Keep It In The Family by John Marrs

Hey, it’s Diego.

I finished reading Keep It In The Family by John Marrs this week.

And this one is one I’d like to talk about!

Let me give you my spoiler-free unbiased review.

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Keep It In The Family by John Marrs Review

Keep It in the Family introduces us to Mia and Finn, a couple who buy a fixer-upper to create their dream home. But their plans take a sinister turn when they find something in the attic that unravels a horrifying legacy connected to the house.

This book leans into the Domestic Thriller genre, and although I went into this book thinking that it would all unravel in the house they buy, it’s all but. It centers around these characters living with Finn’s parents while they decide what to do with the creepy fixer-upper.

The story follows multiple points of view, including Mia, Finn, and Finn’s parents, as well as an ominous unnamed narrator. Most of the book is told in a single timeline, but we do get flashbacks for the unnamed narrator.

The writing style is very “dear diary”, if you’re looking for lush, descriptive prose, you might feel let down. I found this straightforwardness worked for the story, helping it stay fast-paced and easy to follow.

What I really enjoyed was how we may get time jumps between chapters, especially at the beginning which helped me get through the first chapters rather quickly. But I was a bit disappointed with the pacing issues around the middle-to-end. The book is longer than others and unfortunately, it’s not a good thing in this case. It came to a point where I wanted the foreshadowing to stop and the story to end because I had figured out most of it and it kept dragging on. That said, I wanted to finish it to see how everything fell into place.

The book is dark. It doesn’t shy away from disturbing themes, and some of the violence and subject matter might be too much for sensitive readers. But if you’re here for the creepy, chilling atmosphere and morally complex characters, it’s a worthwhile read.

Although there are characters involved in relationships, there’s no romance or spicy content here. The book contains explicit language and there are explicit graphic scenes of violence.

So, what about the ending? (No spoilers obviously)

The ending ties up all loose ends and wraps up the characters’ arcs. The denouement also gives us good insights into how characters adapt after the end which I appreciated. I didn’t like the direction it was taken but I can’t deny the ending gives closure to the book in a satisfying fashion.

While it’s not perfect—the middle had pacing issues—Keep It in the Family is a solid choice for anyone who loves thrillers that don’t shy away from dark themes.

Similar Books to Keep It In The Family

• The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

• Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

• The Whisper Man by Alex North

That’s all for this week.

See you next time.

— Diego Dunne

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