The Happy Family: The gripping new psychological crime thriller from the No.1 Kindle bestselling author of The Perfect Couple

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I don’t mean to dismiss bullying as a serious issue or to play down the horrid nature of what Beth did when she was aged 13. My point is that the author’s hints create certain expectations of ‘a big reveal’ that never actually materialises. Take every conceivable part of what makes a great psychological thriller, add every ingredient from a family drama and mix it up with a classic whodunit and you either get a disaster OR you get this Three traumatized children: one of them or all may have inherited the genes of their father, suffering from same psychopathic tendencies to commit such a brutal crime! On the upside? Lapena always keeps her character list short, which I honestly appreciate. Too many thrillers and suspense novels get cluttered with a bunch of people who either don't matter, aren't interesting, or seem to exist only to serve as potential suspects. This tightly-knit family provided just enough options without a bunch of filler.

My favorite character was of course Suhani. She’s the epitome of who I want to be. Up until recently I had actually not read or seen a lot of Indian women going into the field of medicine because they actually wanted to rather than their parents just telling them they should. Anyways, I felt like Suhani was a reflection of myself and her relationship with Natasha, her sister, definitely had some similarities to my sister and I’s relationship. Besides the wonderful cast of characters, I thought the writing style was easy to read without being juvenile which is an aspect that I was looking for in a South Asian adult fiction book. I found that many SA adult fiction books had characters or contained writing that came across as juvenile which is just difficult for me to relate to because of how I was raised and the independence I’ve had from an early age. Weirdly, almost instantly strange things start to happen. Beth loses her keys a lot, the heating system goes bezerk, “accidents” happen and tempers start to fray as Beth seems to be losing her grip on everything, alienating loved ones … and drinking too much. When everything seems to be going wrong, Beth is glad to have her mum around for support. Then there's the two other women we get to meet Robyn her housekeeper n nanny and a lovely homeless lady Nadia. Both women seem like ladies you want as friends so I just loved the part they play in Beth's life. It’s a reasonable enough, (though not especially novel) plot but it’s dragged down by the repetitive nature of the narrative and the glaringly obvious solution to the various twists and turns. Incredulous naivety

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There are a few others who had a stake in the early demise of the Mertons, giving us plenty of suspects to choose from, and what was really unique was that almost ALL of them were women! I loved that it was set in Cheltenham, with mentions to Bristol & South Gloucestershire (My home town!.) There is also an interesting moral dilemma for the reader as to wether you forgive something truly horrific in a characters past when they repent Happy Families is your definitive guide to understanding your child's mental health, so they can survive and thrive. Whether you're afraid that anxiety is controlling your child's life, struggling with getting your child out of a low mood cycle, or you just want support on how to communicate with them, this book is here to help. The Wishbones return home, and their circumstances change. Frank stands up for himself at work after putting a photo of their family adventure and the frozen Dracula on his desk, Max's bully has realised the error of his ways and befriends him, and Fay meets a nerd in a knight's costume at a costume party that Emma throws at home. Baba Yaga, Renfield, and the three bats crash the party. The family takes another photo together, showing their happiness.

They have three children. All of them were at Easter dinner. Two of them were with their spouses. One was with a random “boyfriend”. The former nanny and current cleaning lady was there too. One guest couldn’t make it. Baba Yaga charges her amulet but is accosted by the Wishbones, however she sends them to Egypt. Cheyenne tries to help, but after rescuing Baba Yaga from falling to her death the two become friends. Baba Yaga explains that Dracula intended for her to curse only Emma, but the entire family's unhappiness caused them all to change - only the entire family being happy will break the curse. I don’t want to say anymore about the plot for fear of spoilers but this is a book you need to read and enjoy for yourselves. I love a book that I can get completely engrossed in and this definitely fitted the bill. A fabulous entertaining read.I've read quite a few Shari Lapena books now, and I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with them. I think I've finally figured out that I adore her mysteries (someone is killed and there are multiple suspects), while I don't like her domestic thrillers (husband or wife could be lying, so are they or aren't they). This mystery definitely goes onto my list of favorites from her. Short, snappy chapters kept this moving along at a brisk pace! You never knew when another revelation might be dropped in a casual conversation so it was important to pay attention to ALL of the secrets and lies being exposed!