The Wrong Family – Ellery Kane

Summary

He tells you he’s your father. He welcomes you into his family. And now you’re trapped…

I’ve never met my father. It was always just me and Mom, so when she died, I was completely alone. But today, years since I first mailed my DNA to Family Ties, I finally have a match. They’ve found my biological father.

When I meet Robert, he’s warm, dependable, sturdy. I’m desperate for him to like me. I want to be part of his perfect, high-flying family more than anything.

Except, I’m not so sure they are perfect. Every day, strange things go wrong in the Thompsons’ grand Lake Tahoe house. A family photo is found burning. Robert’s car is tampered with. My mother’s necklace goes missing.

Though that’s nothing compared to the horror of finding the huge family portrait violently slashed in its ornate gold frame… But someone is trying to blame me for everything—all eyes are on me. I can’t run now.

And then I receive an email from Family Ties that makes my blood run cold.

Robert Thompson is not my father.

Now I’m trapped in a house full of strangers, with no idea who I can trust. And I’m terrified my life is in grave danger…

Review

This book had so many subplots, which a lot of people may find as a deal-breaker but they all tied nicely and didn’t feel like a distraction from the main plot: Hallie and her newly found father.

It starts quickly with Hallie lamenting herself that she doesn’t know her father and grieving for her mother, all the while losing her place of stay and her job, and the book picks up from there and doesn’t lose its pace, very refreshing to see surprisingly in this year’s thrillers (at leat for me).
I really felt like this was written nicely and the structure is very well done, I was expecting a standard popcorn thriller but definitely got way more than I bargained for!

This is a good introduction to full on mystery-thrillers for fans of cozy mysteries, it has the elements of found family and food that are so unique within one, but the elements of suspense and chills are still there.

Certifiably on the look out for more books from Ellery Kane.