The Wrong Family
Ellery Kane
408 pages
Bookouture
published August 30, 2023
About the book
He tells you he’s your father. He welcomes you into his family. And now you’re trapped…
I’ve never met my father. It was always just me and Mom, so when she died, I was completely alone. But today, years since I first mailed my DNA to Family Ties, I finally have a match. They’ve found my biological father.
When I meet Robert, he’s warm, dependable, sturdy. I’m desperate for him to like me. I want to be part of his perfect, high-flying family more than anything.
Except, I’m not so sure they are perfect. Every day, strange things go wrong in the Thompsons’ grand Lake Tahoe house. A family photo is found burning. Robert’s car is tampered with. My mother’s necklace goes missing.
Though that’s nothing compared to the horror of finding the huge family portrait violently slashed in its ornate gold frame… But someone is trying to blame me for everything—all eyes are on me. I can’t run now.
And then I receive an email from Family Ties that makes my blood run cold.
Robert Thompson is not my father.
Now I’m trapped in a house full of strangers, with no idea who I can trust. And I’m terrified my life is in grave danger…
An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller packed with twists that will leave you reeling. Perfect for fans of The Family Upstairs, The Happy Family and Shari Lapena.
My Review
This one was a little less like a thriller and way more like sitting back and watching the most ultra-dysfunctional family implode. It was like a train wreck that you just can’t take your eyes off of. When Hallie, with all her secret issues, connects with her biological father, it seems like all of her dreams have come true, but the more I read, the more secrets there seemed to be. I have never read about so many secrets and lies told by everyone yet it didn’t feel overdone.
It did start out a little slow for me, but the pace built as the story progressed. And with a full cast of characters, I am not sure I liked any of them. As soon as I had any connection to one of them, they either did something undesirable or one of their secrets came to light. While I suspected quite a few, but not all, of these secrets before they came out, I was still very interested to know if I was right. And after rereading the synopsis, I’d suggest avoiding reading about this one and you might be more shocked about the twists.
If you like to read about family drama to make your life feel normal, this is definitely your book. With all of my quirks, this one had me feeling like I was quite ordinary.
I did this as at times an immersive read/listen while also switching back and forth between the book types as my schedule and availability allowed. Madeline Pell did a good job of narrating the book and allowing the plot to shine.
About the author
Forensic psychologist by day, novelist by night, Ellery Kane has been writing–professionally and creatively–for as long as she can remember. Just like many of her main characters, Ellery loves to ask why, which is the reason she became a psychologist in the first place. Real life really is stranger than fiction, and Ellery’s writing is often inspired by her day job. Evaluating violent criminals and treating trauma victims, she has gained a unique perspective on the past and its indelible influence on the individual. And she’s heard her fair share of real life thrillers.
Ellery lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, a picturesque setting that provides the backdrop for many of her novels. If you don’t find Ellery interviewing murderers behind prison walls or pecking away at her latest novel, she is probably at the gym landing a solid jab-cross to a punching bag; riding bicycles with her special someone; or enjoying a movie the old-fashioned way–at the theater with popcorn and Milk Duds.
Ellery was previously selected as one of ten semifinalists in the MasterClass James Patterson Co-Author Competition, and she recently signed a three book deal with Bookouture for her new Rockwell and Decker mystery thriller series. The first book is scheduled for release in 2020.
If you’d like to receive a notification when new books are released, please sign up for Ellery’s newsletter at ellerykane.com. Ellery also signs e-books on authorgraph.com.
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