Summary:
In this family, everyone is keeping secrets–especially the dead. Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there. And they don’t come much richer than Fred and Sheila Merton. But even all their money can’t protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mertons are brutally murdered the night after an Easter Dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.
Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their capricious father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did one of them snap after that dreadful evening? Or was it someone else that night who crept in with the worst of intentions? It must be. After all, if one of your siblings was a psychopath, you’d know.
Wouldn’t you?
My take: 4 looks
Read in about 24 hours! I could not put this one down. Shari Lapena grabbed me from the beginning, and never let me go. I thought, considered, played detective, and was finally completely satisfied at the ending. Very good!!
Catherine, Dan, and Jenna are all children of a cruel bastard of a father and a spineless sycophant of a mother. The children were raised by nanny-cum-housekeeper Ilena, who is always invited to family events, but expected to serve. Aunt Audrey has childhood trauma of her own, which she confesses to her best friend Ellen. Add to that spouses, lovers, and children, and you have the ingredients for an Agatha Christie-esque tale.
You can see that this is the BEST of family dramas ON SPEED! Oh, and they are millionaires. Did I forget to mention that? Best of all, the first chapter begins with the heinous murder of the patriarch and matriarch. Who stood to gain from the murders? EVERYONE!!
And that is where you need to buckle in and clear your calendar for the next day because you are not going to want to be interrupted on this crazy rollercoaster.
Is the ending satisfying? Yes, but it is the twists, turns, ascents, and stomach-dropping freefalls that will have you turning page after page.
Highly recommended.
