Keep It in the Family

Product Information

Young couple Mia and Finn are excited to buy their first home, even though it has been empty for some time and needs lots of work. Whilst renovating the house, Mia discovers a message carved into the skirting boards – “I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC”. When she decides to investigate, what she discovers is truly horrific – but that proves just to be the beginning of the nightmare … Some of his other books, I occasionally have problems with. One of the things I don’t enjoy is the consistent use of female infertility as a plot point. It seems to be a part of almost every book. John Marrs has done it again! Keep It in the Family (out October 18) was the twisty, turny thriller I hoped it would be! While it was a little long, causing the story to drag on a tad, this story still delivered the wild ride of intensity we have come to expect from JM.

I read a lot of King and similar (horror) novels, but this is the first time that I had to take a break after reading a book - just to let this inconceivably cruel story sink in. And I already know that this story will not let me go.

John Marrs

John Marrs has excelled again! After loving The One and The Passengers, I lapped up this book as soon as I saw it on NetGalley. I was so excited when I saw Marrs’ new book available for request on NetGalley because I loved THE ONE! Unfortunately, there was something missing for me in his latest thriller. I kept expecting it to come full circle for me, and it sadly never did. boy oh boy John Marrs came to play with this spooky, atmospheric and DARK thriller!!! 4-4.5 stars, still thinking! This was really dark and disturbing. Really really dark and really really disturbing. I am a huge John Marrs fan. I have read several of his books. He creates very different stories and each book is different. I like that very much about his work. You never know what kind of story you

KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY is a twisted and delicious dark unnerving read that is chilling to the core. It makes you wonder what goes on in the author's mind to be able to conjure up such macabre plots! He did say in his note at the end that this story was the result of a dream and that you wouldn't want to be inside his head at the best of times let alone at night! Then the dilapidated house is bought by young couple Mia and Finn. In the mix are Finns parents Debbie and Dave who also wanted to buy the house as a renovation flip. When Mia strips some wallpaper of the wall, she finds a message ‘I will save them from the attic’. This leads them to find out more sinister and more horrors in the house after further discovery in the attic. The media finds out what has gone in the house. Which stars Mia off in an obsession of what went on in the house. Which puts pressure on her marriage and bonding with her son when he is born.Though things aren’t too graphic, we know that a lot of bad things happen to kids. If you are sensitive about this, be prepared for it. What made it easy to read is the writing (and not in a good way). I wasn’t the least bit affected, as the whole thing felt distant. Definitely a book to read if you like dark mysteries, serial killers, and want to be drawn in a very twisted story. Mia and Finn are hoping to turn an old, dilapidated house into their dream home. But when Mia finds a message etched into the wall, they realize that their attic has a horrific history in its past. Now with their new born, Mia becomes obsessed with seeking answers. That’s when secrets spill, truths emerge, threatening their marriage and her bonding with her baby.

In the wake of their traumatic discovery, the baby arrives and Mia can’t shake her fixation with the monstrous crimes that happened right above them. Tormented by the terrible things she saw, she is desperate to dig into the past to find answers. The character-driven story is told from alternating first-person perspectives. At first, the identity of the narrator is deliberately left unclear: It remains a guess as through which eyes we are looking to see what is happening, and it seems the alternate first person narrator is sharing secrets the other half is not telling. I bumped this book up to the top of my To Be Read list because it was John Marrs. I've enjoyed all of his books that I have read so far, particularly enjoying his latest forays into the world of speculative fiction. Despite that, unfortunately this one just didn't hit the mark for me. I loved “The Good Samaritan” and I am always captivated by the Dystopian World which John Marrs has created (The One, The Passengers, and The Minders) so you can be sure that I will still be auto-requesting his next, despite not being quite as enamored with this story. One minor irritation is that I figured out a lot of the twists from the get-go. I can’t even hint as to why I was able to figure them out, because I’m sure other readers would too. However, I was pleasantly surprised by some surprises towards the end that I definitely didn’t see coming.

Customer reviews

I like John Marrs, mostly, as an author. The One and Passengers are really great, and I loved What Lies Between Us so much. I did enjoy the excerpts of newspaper clippings, and podcasts sprinkled throughout, which helped to fill in details of the story. There was even one from a YOUTUBE SERIES by ex police detective and crime thriller author, Caroline Mitchell which was a fun touch! 😉