The Family Game by Catherine Steadman

Publication Date: September 29, 2022

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Pages: 336

Genre: Thriller

Rating: 5/5

A rich, eccentric family. A time-honored tradition. Or a lethal game of survival? One woman finds out what it really takes to join the 1% in this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water, Mr. Nobody, and The Disappearing Act. 

Harry is a novelist on the brink of stardom; Edward, her husband-to-be, is seemingly perfect. In love and freshly engaged, their bliss is interrupted by the reemergence of the Holbecks, Edward’s eminent family and the embodiment of American old money. For years, they’ve dominated headlines and pulled society’s strings, and Edward left them all behind to forge his own path. But there are eyes and ears everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they were pulled back in . . .

After all, even though he’s long severed ties with his family, Edward is set to inherit it all. Harriet is drawn to the glamour and sophistication of the Holbecks, who seem to welcome her with open arms, but everything changes when she meets Robert, the inescapably magnetic head of the family. At their first meeting, Robert slips Harry a cassette tape, revealing a shocking confession which sets the inevitable game in motion.

What is it about Harry that made him give her that tape? A thing that has the power to destroy everything? As she ramps up her quest for the truth, she must endure the Holbecks’ savage Christmas traditions all the while knowing that losing this game could be deadly.

Review

This was a fun and well paced thriller that is perfect for this time of year. I throughly enjoyed our main character, Harry, and I was invested in finding out the same answers she was trying to uncover. One reason that this book works so well is that Harry has moved to America for her fiancee so the isolation of not knowing who to trust felt authentic. And the money and power that her soon to be family has is a force of its own. The twists and turns of this story coupled with the weird games made this book so hard to put down. I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen next.

This book is like a Christmas version of the movie Ready or Not including the huge mansion. Except this family has lots of Christmas traditions and they are so outlandish which is what makes this book so fun. Steadman is an actor which really shows in this book since every scene and each character was so easy to picture. I would love for this to be adapted into a movie and I hope one day my wish comes true.