The Happy Family by Jackie Kabler
Genre: Domestic thriller, Domestic drama, Psychological drama, Suspense
Read: 29th May 2021
Published: 4th June 2021
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
A mother who disappeared…
When Beth was 10 years old, her beautiful, wild mother Alice walked out and never came back. Beth’s life since hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but now she is happy and settled, with a successful career, a loving family and a beautiful home.
An unexpected visitor…
Then one day there’s a knock at the door. Alice has returned. Overjoyed to have the chance to rebuild their relationship, Beth invites her mother to move in.
A life that comes crashing down…
At first, everything seems wonderful. But then Beth’s friends begin to drift away, strange things start to happen at home, and rumours begin to circle about her past. As the mysterious events around Beth become darker and more dangerous, she is forced to question everything. Is somebody in her life trying to destroy her happiness? And how far will they go?
MY REVIEW:
I'm excited to be taking part in the #BlogTour for Jackie Kabler's latest tale of domestic suspense THE HAPPY FAMILY.
Having read her previous thriller "The Perfect Couple", I had high hopes for this book...and I wasn't disappointed. Addicted pretty much from the beginning, THE HAPPY FAMILY is anything but a happy family. But oh how it's dysfunctionality worked!
When Beth was ten years old her mother walked out of their lives and never came back. Now she is forty, amicably divorced from Jacob with two children - Eloise (10) and Finley (7) - and a practice manager for a local GP surgery. Her father who brought her up single-handedly after her mother left is now 80 and living in a care home having suffered a stroke where Beth visits him regularly. Despite the upsets of her childhood and the ensuing adolescent years, Beth has found a happy contentment in her life for which she is grateful.
But Beth has a secret. A deep dark secret which haunts her still. In her thoughts and in her nightmares. And Beth believes it is only a matter of time before her past catches up to her and her secret shame is revealed for all to see.
And then something surprising happens. A knock on the door is about to turn her life upside down as an unfamiliar woman stands on her doorstep. Beth has no idea who she is...until she sees the familiar tattoo on her collarbone. Three stars - one for Beth, one for her dad and one for her mum. No...it can't be...can it? All at once, Beth is overwhelmed by a flood of tears as emotions run rampant at the realisation that the woman standing before her is her mother. She has come back.
Welcoming Alice with open arms, Beth invites her into her home and into her life, asking her to stay for a few days (at first) and then for however long she likes. So thrilled to be reunited with her long lost mother after thirty years, the questions she had about her absent years and why she left just disappear into the background as unimportant. Her mother is back and that's all that matters now. Soon Beth is introducing her mother to her friends and colleagues and they are all incredibly happy for her and accepting of Alice.
And then things start to go wrong.
Almost instantly, strange things begin to happen. Beth loses her keys, not once, but several times. The central heating develops bipolar heating the place up like a sauna despite the thermostat set at the usual temperature. Things go missing or are moved about and Beth begins to wonder if she is losing her grip on reality. Then it seems she is alienating her friends, losing her appetite and drinking far too much. Everyone around her seems to notice the change in her behaviour and become worried, but it's when her children start to suffer that Jacob steps in and tells her to get her act together.
And then videos appear online of Beth...naked...in the bath and rather lewdly in front of a mirror. Not only that, but the videos are linked on several Facebook pages - the surgery where she works, her ex-husband's business page, the care home where her father resides, her friends' pages - all posted from her personal account and is going viral. But the humiliation doesn't end there. It seems a tabloid has picked up the videos and have delved into her background and uncovered the deep dark secret she never wanted to make public.
Within a couple of months, her life has gone from happy contentment to a complete humiliating mess. And the only one who remains in her corner is her mum. Thank goodness she is there to support her. Or is she?
With her life crumbling around her, Beth looks in danger of losing everything and everyone close to her until someone totally unexpected comes to her rescue – a fabulous twist I admittedly guessed early on. But it was still a brilliant twist. So who is Beth's saviour?
There are several twists and reveals in THE HAPPY FAMILY and though I guessed a couple of the big ones it didn't ruin my enjoyment of it. For me, it made the most sense...even if Beth didn't have a clue. But what had me scratching my head was why would Beth take the word of the mother who had only just reappeared in her life (after being absent for the most part) over that of her friends who she knew far better in any case? She was so quick to believe the worst of them on the say so of her mother...and yet didn't question if Alice really had her best interests at heart? She may have briefly entertained the idea but she dismissed it just as quickly also. I realise the woman may have spent her whole life yearning for her mother but after being absent for thirty years, I'd want to be asking some questions. And yet Beth pushed all those aside. Still, maybe Alice just wanted Beth all to herself after being away for so long.
There are so many hints dropped throughout the story that lead the reader trying to figure our exactly what is going on, tying some in knots in the process. There were always going to be questions behind Alice's sudden reappearance...even if Beth failed to ask them. But should we be suspicious? Should Beth? Nothing was ever going to be straightforward, that's for sure, but is it too good to be true? Or are we just set up to be cynical about the obvious? Kabler has certainly played upon the more conspicuous to leave us all scratching our heads wondering what to believe. Is it Beth being gas-lighted? Or is it the reader?
Throughout the story, THE HAPPY FAMILY is, of course, anything but. But the mystery, the suspense, the tension...oh, it was a car crash moment. We simply couldn't look away. We were baited in the beginning then slowly drawn in and by this stage were well and truly hooked as we witness Beth's slow decline into self doubt and self destruction.
Part psychological part domestic, THE HAPPY FAMILY is an addictive read that will keep you turning the pages long into the night. Perfect for fans of psychological drama and domestic thrillers such as Shalini Boland, K.L. Slater, Sheryl Browne, Ruth Heald, Rona Halsall and Lisa Jewell.
I would like to thank #JackieKabler, #Netgalley, #RachelsRandomResources and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #TheHappyFamily in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
A former news reporter, she spent more than nine years with GMTV as a roving correspondent and newsreader, covering some of the biggest stories of the decade including President Clinton’s impeachment trial, the Asian tsunami, the Kosovo crisis, famine in Ethiopia, the Athens Olympics, the Soham murders and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Jackie left GMTV to work as a freelance broadcaster in 2008. She became a regular presenter of the ITV national morning news and a reporter across ITN’s news programmes including News at Ten; a reporter and presenter on the BBC’s Midlands Today programme; presenter of property show Selfbuilder TV on Sky’s Information TV channel; and guested as a TV gardening expert. Her work also appeared on the BBC’s News Channel and on CNN.
She also worked as a media trainer and in media simulation – in particular with the armed forces – and produced, wrote and presented corporate and promotional films.
In January 2013 Jackie joined the UK’s biggest shopping channel, QVC, as a presenter.
A former newspaper reporter, she has also worked as a reporter and presenter for Channel TV, ITV West, Central TV, Five News and Setanta Sports News.
Jackie is also an internationally bestselling crime writer, author of the Cora Baxter Mysteries, a series of humorous murder mysteries set in a television room, and of psychological thrillers Am I Guilty? and The Perfect Couple. The Happy Family is her sixth book.
Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.
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