However, I am also sad to say that the big revelation didn't come with a bang and it felt like it was just mentioned and done. Filled with fast dialogue, tense pacing and twists upon twists, Not A Happy Family is an immersive read you won’t want to put down.” One of her hairs was found in Irena’s car, which was seen outside her parents’ house on the night of the murder, but Jenna insists it could have transferred to Irena when she hugged her after dinner.

Each family member(including the deceased couple) was repugnant, loathsome, and distasteful in different ways. One or more members of the Merton family is possibly a psychopath. Each of the three siblings had motive and opportunity, but there are others who would benefit from Fred’s passing. His sister, Audrey, believes that she stands to inherit his fortune. And what about Rose and Ellen Cutter, and their secret relationship to Fred? Of course, there is always the help. Cleaning lady and de facto nanny Irena Dabrowski knows as much about the family as they do about themselves and would do almost anything to protect the children.

Shari Lapena

A novel of domestic suspense with shifting POVs, The End of Her will have you questioning who to believe right up until the end.” Someone We Know is a tour de force of thriller writing. Shari Lapena proves yet again that she is the mistress of the pacy plot, cliff edge tension and menacing suburban claustrophobia. Fans will be delighted and if you haven’t read her books yet, then why on earth not?”

The book gives readers the limited perspective of each character as they respond to the news of the murders, try to put together a united front for investigators, harbor doubts about each other, and dream about the huge inheritance to which they all believe they are entitled. Lapena’s narrative is purely descriptive and written with an almost clinical detachment that mirrors the bloodless and unfeeling responses by those who knew Fred and Sheila best. The Merton family is troubled, dysfunctional and more than “not happy,” yet Lapena offers no real insight into their lives, content instead to drop readers into this moment of violence and paranoia. You’ll love to hate the flawed, spoilt characters in this addictive, fast-paced drama… This is a well-plotted whodunnit with twists and turns in every chapter to keep readers on their toes.” None of the characters were particularly likeable, including the murdered parents. I couldn't even care at all who killed them, and I didn't care if they never received justice. Fred was a killer himself who never got justice, so why there should be justice for his own murder?Eldest daughter Catherine and her husband, leave in a huff, followed closely behind by beleaguered middle child, Dan and his wife, Lisa. Even the former nanny/now part time housekeeper Irena is angry! Shortly after, their youngest daughter, Jenna and her current boy toy Jake say their goodbyes. Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door The End of Her is a slippery eel of a novel – just when you think you have it in your grasp, it slithers away on a new current. I consumed it in a day. . . . Unputdownable.” Going into Not a Happy Family, I will admit to being apprehensive. I've had a hit or miss relationship with Lapena, so had no clue how this one would be for me.