Keep It in the Family

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The new house needs so much work that Finn and Dave take on the bulk of it, and the couple moves into an annexe to the parents’ house. Not only does this mean more frequent interactions between the two women, but closer quarters intensifies their animosity towards one another. It’s hard to decide which of them is the more unreasonable. Neither can do anything the other doesn’t object to or take out of context. This is the kind of difficult family relationship we all hope and strive to avoid, not always successfully. In this thrilling novel from bestselling author John Marrs, a young couple’s house hides terrible secrets—and not all of them are confined to the past.

Although the topic is heavy, the style of writing makes it easy to read through the story. The short chapters in different views make you want to read more and more. I did stay up until the early hours saying “just one more chapter” Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant. Mia discovers a chilling message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Their dream home was once a house of horrors. The format. Told in the first person from different view points, there’s a real abc type of narrative here, almost a childish style of storytelling that didn’t work at all for me. This book will keep you up at night! Filled with a sinister house, suitcases, and lies – I found myself wondering just what I had gotten myself into with this one!

The One has been translated into 30 different languages and is to be turned into an eight-part Netflix series starting in autumn 2020. The past horrors of the house come to light, bringing more secrets to the surface. The killer is around, too, lurking and waiting for the right time. With the dangers surrounding Mia, her newborn, and the family, can they find a way to deal with it? Can Mia save her family and herself?

Since reading What Lies Between Us, I have been anxiously awaiting John Marrs’ next dark and disturbing psychological thriller. Really enjoyed seeing this side of Marrs, he is such an amazing story teller, and once again proves it to all.Meanwhile Finn and Mia are still living in his parents annex with baby Sonny. Debbie is a Godsend if truth be told and suddenly Mia and Debbie’s relationship changes from very bad to good. Debbie is keen to help and is wonderful with Sonny. Mia cannot do much because of her injuries and sadly has trouble bonding with her baby. She has post-natal blues and becomes obsessed with the babes in the attic. The police investigation is ongoing and work on their new home is impossible. With time on her hands she starts an investigation of her own, looking at old newspaper articles. YouTube and even a crime writer’s take on what happened to the lost children. The saying goes you can’t choose your family - or can you? As you are ‘entering’ the dark mind of the marvellous John Marrs aka Mr Twisty himself, then anything is possible! It starts with a scare and there isn’t much let up until the bitter end. In 2018 Mia and Finn buy a doer-upper in Stewksbury , Bedfordshire. The house is neglected and definitely creepy but does it have a past?? Well, obviously it does if you’ve ever read the author before!! A chilling message in childlike writing is discovered above a skirting board followed by harrowing discoveries in the attic which implodes Finn and Mia’s world. The story is told by the young couple and by Finn’s parents Dave and Debbie, interspersed with podcasts, interviews and news clippings. I loved everything about this one, from the characters to the mind blowing events that happen throughout. On the flip side, the writing was mostly good and the last few chapters were intense. The twist was great and the ending was perfect for this story. A good starter book for someone not used to crime/thriller fiction maybe?

The characters. A bunch of vacuous and unlikeable ones that make ridiculous decisions purely for the author to move the story on. I didn’t care about any of them. They weren’t even interesting in an unlikeable way. They were just nasty wafer thin and silly. The book starts with an intriguing chapter and alternates between different POVs and timelines. It can be super confusing if you don’t note the years (something I gave up halfway through the book).

Everyone except their families soon forgets about a missing child. And me. I remember every one of them. Because I am the bait that lures them here.’ Anyways, I'm going to cut myself off. It's one star. I HIGHLY recommend The Good Samaritan. An absolutely unhinged banger of a psychological thriller. It truly puts the psycho in psychological. Thank you, NEXT. And it wasn't necessarily the twisty nature of the story that had me hooked. The reveals and misdirections along the way did nothing for me because I knew exactly what was going on from about the 40% mark. So instead, I was much more interested in the characters. These characters are fascinating. The lengths they will go to do something, all because they have an idea in their head, is crazy. I really found the characters’ layers to be the most interesting part of this story - it makes for a great case study!

After working as a journalist for 25-years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time writer.A chilling book that kept me on the edge of my seat, dreading what is to come yet not wanting to look away. The book is devastating, with horrific crimes inside. Yet is wrote in such a way that had me unable to put the book down, needing to see what happens next. Do you know what’s happening in your house, what’s already happened, what your family is capable of? Can you trust anyone or is that niggling suspicion worth following? When Finn met Mia in London, he was already engaged to his long-time sweetheart. But Mia was so different – outspoken, funny, confident, independent – that he married her instead. Debbie and Dave, Finn’s parents, loved Emma, sweet and pliable, and they can’t warm up to Mia. Despite several years of marriage and fertility treatments, she’s yet to carry a baby to term, which is a kernel of misery for both the would-be mother and grandmother. i was expecting something more suspenseful and thrilling like THE ONE or THE PASSANGERS but this was far from it. from the synopsis, i was expecting a haunted house vibe like HOME BEFORE DARK or THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS but when the plot got going, it gave me THE WHISPER MAN and PRETTY GIRLS vibes… if ya know what i mean 🫣😅🫠😦😱🔪 Keep it in the family is yet another dark psychological thriller by this fabulous writer. Mia and Finn have found their dream home and are busy with renovations in expectation of the arrival of their baby. However, Mia finds a message etched into the into the skirting boards “I will save them from the attic”. Then a gruesome discovery is made in the attic and life for Mia is turned inside out and she has no idea who to trust or who is telling the truth.