The Other Family by Theo Baxter

The Other Family – Theo Baxter

This is one family you don’t want to join.

Things haven’t been easy for fifteen-year-old Sam Cotton. She’s just recovering from the death of her mother when her father Jesse has a mental breakdown.

She’s taken out of his care and given to a foster family, the Bradfords. The Bradfords live in the middle of nowhere and seem like pious, God-fearing people.

But Sam soon notices some disturbing things. The forbidden rooms. The strict rules. The cameras that track her every move.

When Sam discovers that two girls previously fostered by the Bradfords have disappeared without trace, she realises she may be in grave danger.

Sam is smart and resourceful. And she’ll need to be – because the Bradfords have a dark secret. A secret which will thrust Sam into a terrifying nightmare from which she may never wake.

Review

Theo Baxter’s The Other Family promised an intriguing premise of psychological suspense but ultimately falls short.

We follow fifteen-year-old Sam Cotton as she grapples with the trauma of losing her mother and her father Jesse’s mental collapse, landing her in the care of the mysterious and remote Bradford family. At first, the Bradfords seem like a devout and upright household, but their oppressive rules, hidden rooms, and invasive surveillance quickly suggest something far more sinister.

Baxter succeeds in creating a dark and foreboding atmosphere, that I have to give it to him. However, the novel’s execution falters in repetitive writing, the overuse of “I gritted my teeth,” grated on me and detracted me from the story whenever it came up.

I didn’t agree with the survivalist part of the characters, sorry. It was difficult to root for anyone at the start.

While the premise is promising, the narrative struggled to deliver. The key plot felt predictable, and the climactic moments lack the payoff one might expect in a psychological thriller. Approach with tempered expectations.