Keep It in the Family by John Marrs

*minor spoilers ahead*

Keep It in the Family by John Marrs is about Mia and Finn who are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly becomes pregnant. Soon after, they discover a creepy message under a skirting board saying, ‘I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC.’ This leads them to the discovery that their home used to be a murder house. Even when their baby arrives Mia is obsessed with finding out more and digging into the past in order to protect her family.

This is the perfect thriller that kept my attention throughout the whole book. I love the chapters from different perspectives of the main characters, including the creepy extracts from an unknown person. I was hooked straight away especially as the main characters were asking questions the reader wanted to know. The chapters were also short making the pacing of the book flow very well.

This book was published in 2022 so there were references to recent, real-life situations such as Covid/lockdown, going to vote etc. This book has such an interesting premise as you never know which character is innocent or where the plot twists end. I found Finn to be a much more intriguing character than expected, I love how dark his character becomes and the plot twists he was involved in right until the end of the book.

Apart from being a great thriller, this book explores generational trauma and how this issue continues over years and years. It’s a very dark, disturbing story, but one definitely worth reading. I really enjoy Marrs’ style of writing and world-building. I also liked The Passengers and can’t wait to read more of his books.

4/5 stars