ARC Review: The Family Home by Miranda Smith

Genre ~ mystery, domestic thriller

Featuring ~ before and now timeline, amicable divorced co~parents, secrets, crime, suspense

Release date ~ October 3, 2022

POV ~ dual ~ 1st person

Page count ~ 320

Audio length ~ 7 hours 35 minutes

My rating ~ 4.5⭐

My review:

The prologue grabbed me right away. A secret that drove a wedge in Matthew and Lillian’s marriage haunts their present when a man is found dead in Lillian’s bed.

Lillian and Matthew are the most amicably divorced couple in Anne Isle. Their 6 year old daughter, Mable, stays in the family home while Lillian and Matthew switch back and forth between staying there with her and in their shared apartment. They are in a groove and have always trusted each other, but when the investigation into the dead man begins they both start to question what they really know about each other.

Dual POV was the perfect way to tell this gripping story. There were so many different scenarios floating around in my head that I thought I was on a tilt-a-whirl at the county fair. I’m pleased to say I did not see the who in the whodunit coming ~ whoop whoop! It was thrilling and suspenseful with a dash of an easy on the eyes detective.

I am so happy about the last text that Lillian received in the epilogue because I was hoping it would turn out that way!!

Miranda is quickly becoming one of my favorite twisty suspenseful authors.

*Thanks to Bookouture, Miranda Smith and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

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Book blurb:

There’s a dead man in my apartment. Only me and my ex have a key. But neither of us would have done this. We have too much to lose…

I wake on the sofa, my head throbbing. How did I get here? In the darkness, I make my way to my bedroom. I turn on the lights. And then I scream.

There’s a body in my bed. And I know this man: we went on two dates together. Who could have killed him? And how did he get in? Only two people have a key to the house: me and my ex-husband Matthew.

I trust Matthew. With what we’re hiding, I have to. And I can’t risk the police digging into our past, or learning about the night when we drank champagne on the cliff and ruined everything.

Someone knows our secret. We have to find out what they want. But am I wrong to believe Matthew, when I know how well he can lie? And how can I save myself, when the truth might destroy me?

An absolutely gripping thriller that will keep you reading late into the night, unable to put the book down for a second. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell.

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