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Over the story, we gradually find out about Beth’s past, informing us of why she is so paranoid in the present. To be honest, I was not that surprised by the revelations, having guessed, to a degree, what had happened. With this in mind, I thought the story just took far longer than necessary. Elements of the story were too obvious for my liking and I felt frustrated by Beth’s acceptance of everything around her. It slowed the pace of the plot and I found there were many moments where I thought the narrative was tedious and predictable. This was reinforced by the fact that I had sadly guessed how the story would conclude and I thought it took too many chapters to get to this point. A family dinner at Easter is the last time the family are all together. Within hours the couple have been brutally killed – and thereafter the questions and accusations start flying. Fred and Sheila Merton are extremely wealthy but awful parents, Fred especially. He is cruel and dismissive, especially to his son Dan who is now unemployed after his father sold the family business so that Dan couldn’t get hands on it because he didn’t rate his business skills. He doesn’t care how much hurt he causes. He announces he is selling the family home despite knowing how much one of his daughters wants it. His wife Sheila is distant and unable to stand up to him. But for me, the real star of the show was Bina. I thought getting her perspective in the book made it so much more interesting. So often in family dramas the parents are to blame for everything and their perspective and experience, especially as middle-aged members of the unit, are often overlooked. That was not the case here. I loved Bina so much even though in initial chapters told from the perspective of her children I thought I would not. Her struggles were so real and the pressures put on her by her culture, society, and experience as an immigrant made for such an interesting character. I thought she was an amazingly strong woman and would love to go to one of her coveted Chats Over Chai meetings! The family in this story, the Mertons, although wealthy, are not a happy family. Their holiday dinners get very messy indeed.
There are lots of twists in this story, and just when you think things can’t get any worse for Beth, they do. A long-held secret – something which, since their move to Cheltenham after the childhood incident, only Beth and her father are aware of – suddenly has reared its very ugly head. Beth looks in danger of losing everything and everyone close to her until someone totally unexpected comes to her rescue – yet another fabulous twist. Who is Beth’s saviour? Well, while the twist is hugely surprising, it’s not too difficult to join the dots and find her guardian angel, though Beth does make a meal out of that task! There are a few others who had a stake in the early demise of the Mertons, giving us plenty of suspects to choose from, and what was really unique was that almost ALL of them were women! All of the children were in line to inherit millions of dollars. But, would any of them kill their parents to hurry the process along?But no, Beth takes everything this woman says as gospel truth. It’s bleedingly obvious to the reader that this is all too good to be true. Told by mum that the two women you thought were your best friends had made some horribly hurtful comments, wouldn’t you want to ask them personally for an explanation? But not our Beth, she just pours another drink and sniffles away. It’s hard to buy into a plot which contains a gaping hole of this size. In Transylvania, Count Dracula laments about his loneliness with his three bat servants. He receives a phone call from Emma Wishbone who has mistakenly called him instead of a monster costume store. She talks to him briefly before accidentally dropping her cell phone down a storm drain. Emma is depressed as family tensions build up - her own bookstore is in dire financial straits, her son Max is a victim of bullying due to his awkward and stereotypical mannerisms, her daughter Fay is a narcissistic teenager, and her husband Frank is overworked and sleep-deprived, neglecting her. Dracula decides to make Emma his new bride and persuades Baba Yaga to curse her and turn her into a real vampire so she will stay with him.
The killer will not be the only cold-blooded character that you will encounter. Many of the suspects are unlikable, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. From the outside, the Joshi family is the quintessential Indian-American family. Decades ago, Bina and Deepak immigrated to America, where she became a pillar of their local Indian community and he, a successful psychiatrist. Their eldest daughter, Suhani, is following the footsteps of her father’s career and happily married. Natasha, their middle daughter, is about to become engaged to the son of longtime family friends. And Anuj, their son—well he’s a son and what could be better than that? From the very first chapter I was hooked into this story. Lapena wastes no time jumping into the nitty-gritty and it kept me guessing until the very end. The short, alternating chapters, made it an incredibly fast read and I was fully engaged. After each perspective, I was sure I had it all figured out. Somewhere around 50% mark we all thought we figured out who the killer was, but I am glad to say we were wrong.This was a fun book to listen to on audio. The narrator was great, and I enjoyed the stories off all involved - not just the siblings. I put on my super sleuth hat- not easy to do while driving and tried to do some detective work of my own. Who could be the heartless killer? What could Fred and Sheila have done to evoke the ire of a killer? Quite a bit as it turns out - well Fred mainly as he was not ever going to win a "Dad of the year" award. Janet and Allan Ahlberg's Happy Families series is full of wonderful and funny books, perfect for children learning to read. This new, bigger, edition means that even younger children can enjoy the stories. Look out for Mrs Wobble the Waitress, too! And then there are other twists that through me completely and well I just love a book that keeps me on my toes. The Happy Family was published in the UK by One More Chapter in June 2021. I received an advance copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
The Wishbones return home, and their circumstances change. Frank stands up for himself at work after putting a photo of their family adventure and the frozen Dracula on his desk, Max's bully has realised the error of his ways and befriends him, and Fay meets a nerd in a knight's costume at a costume party that Emma throws at home. Baba Yaga, Renfield, and the three bats crash the party. The family takes another photo together, showing their happiness. Catherine Tate as Baba Yaga, Dracula's former captive witch. She is responsible for turning the Wishbone family into monsters. Natasha has always been the wild card in the family. Gregarious and bold, she marches to the beat of her own drum. But that marching sometimes causes damage to others, who see her path to stand-up comedy as questionable and even sometimes destructive. When a series of blows in her life leads her to a crucial outcry for help with her mental health, the whole family must come to grips with their own experiences, especially her mother Bina. Dr Beth Mosley MBE is one of the UK’s most experienced and respected consultant clinical psychologists, and she works with children, young people and their families every day. In this groundbreaking guide aimed at parents of children aged 4-21, she offers a comprehensive toolkit that will help you make sense of what your child is going through and give you the hope and reassurance you need to make a change.
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In all honesty to start with Beth's relationships all seem a bit to perfect even with her ex husband and his girlfriend. So the fall out during the book is great to read. Truth is.... everyone here lies. I couldn't figure out who killed Fred and Sheila Merton after Easter dinner. The Mertons are dead inside their home and their bodies were found the next day by the housekeeper. All three adult children are interested in the big inheritance so they sure have the motive and are being untruthful. They also don't trust one another which adds another layer of suspense. This was a fast-paced read, centered on divorced mom of two, Beth, whose mother walked out on her 30 years ago when she was just 10 years old. Beth lives a happy and fulfilled life, but always felt like something was missing due to the absence of her mother in her life. One day, out of the blue, her mother appears at her door.
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