Random Things Tours: The Family Game by Catherine Steadman

Families do come in different shapes and secret packages. No matter your social status, being part of a new family entangles often taking over a burden of new information and histories. And this is not necessarily an advantage. 

Harriet Reed is a successful bestseller writer. As she is introduced to the upper class family of her boyfriend, Edward Holbeck, the heir of a prestigious American family, she is caught into a thrilling game: Robert, Edward´s father gave her a manuscript for a second literary opinion. But it looks like the draft she is about to read is more than a literary fantasy, it´s a murder confession. 

As she is about to acknowledge this truth, Harriet will soon found herself caught in a bewildering game whose rules she is learning on the go, leading her not only to moral and personal choices, but equally to life (sometimes threatening) decisions. The more the game advances the harder is to cope with the pressure. Shortly, the perfect ambiance of suspense for a real thriller lover.

The sophisticated plot construction allows however to equally consider the other details of the story, such as the ambiance, the characters development and the coordination between the different layers of the action. The timeline arrangement is also smoothly, in a way that during the switch from one sequence to another, there are important information added to the story.

I love thrillers built around psychological games and The Family Game by Catherine Steadman is up to the challenge. It has unfolding situations populated by characters surrounded by dark secrets and psychological triggers with unexpected consequences. A bit of mind games, a couple of untold truth and hidden memories: a good combo for a thriller, although a bit tensed and nerve wracking sometimes. 

Catherine Steadman is an actress (Downtown Abbey, The Tudors, Mansfield Park, among others) and author based in London.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the blog tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own