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I want to thank WunderkindPR for the opportunity to read and review The Family Bones by Elle Marr.

Amazon / KindleUnlimited / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

A forest retreat. Isolated. No wireless. A storm. A family of psychopaths. What could possibly go wrong?

The pretty cover of The Family Bones by Elle Marr makes me think romantic suspense. I read the blurb and I thought, this will be a different kind of serial killer story and I was eager to begin reading. It didn’t go like a thought…

The point of view shifts between Olivia, a family member and podcaster searching for answers to the question – nature or nurture, Birdie, and influences and podcaster specializing in missing women, and a Journal.

The mystery begins to ramp up when a body is found floating in the lake. The police are unable to reach them due to the storm and thinking they would be all right. After all, it is a family reunion.

I feel like I am lost in a B movie, unraveling it through the written word. The story felt dry. I thought with the murder(s) it would be more suspenseful, but it just didn’t read that way to me. More of a mystery than a suspense novel.

I will say, there were so many suspects, I would need a murder board to try to figure it out. I know the story is fiction and I am usually able to let the author lead me wherever they want me to go, but this time, I just couldn’t get there. Was it the storyline?…or just me?….

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Family Bones by Elle Marr.

GOODREADS BLURB

What makes a psychopath? A young woman delves into her family’s shadowy legacy in a terrifying novel by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of Strangers We Know.

Psychology student Olivia Eriksen’s family is notorious among true-crime buffs. Faced with a legacy of psychopathy that spans generations, Olivia has spent much of her academic life trying to answer one chilling question: Nature or nurture?

Although she’s kept a safe distance from her blood relatives for years, Olivia agrees to attend a weekend reunion. After all, her fiancé is eager to meet his future in-laws, and the gathering may give her a chance to interview her elusive grandfather about the family traits.

But nothing is ever peaceful among the Eriksens for long. Olivia’s favorite cousin is found dead in a nearby lake. Then another family member disappears. As a violent storm isolates the group further, Olivia’s fears rise faster than the river.

And an uninvited guest is about to join the party. True-crime podcaster Birdie Tan has uncovered a disturbing mystery in her latest investigation—and she’s following it right to the Eriksens’ mountain resort. There’s a deadly twist in the family plot that even Olivia doesn’t see coming.

318 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 2023

ABOUT ELLE MARR

Elle Marr is a #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of thrillers. Her latest book THE FAMILY BONES earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called it a “mesmerizing psychological thriller.” Originally from Sacramento, Elle graduated from UC San Diego before moving to France, where she earned a master’s degree from the Sorbonne University in Paris. She now lives and writes in Oregon with her family.

Coming in Spring 2024, her next book THE ALONE TIME is available for pre-order now. YOUR DARK SECRETS, a thriller in the vein of Flight Attendant meets I Care A Lot, will publish Summer 2024.

For more info, check out www.ellemarr.com or follow her on social media.

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