Keep it in the Family by John Marrs
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic noir, Suspense
Read: 10th October 2022
Published: 18th October 2022
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
In this chilling novel from bestselling author John Marrs, a young couple’s house hides terrible secrets—and not all of them are confined to the past.
Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant. But just when they think the house is ready, Mia discovers a chilling message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Following the clue up into the eaves, the couple make a gruesome discovery: their dream home was once a house of horrors.
In the wake of their traumatic discovery, the baby arrives and Mia can’t shake her fixation with the monstrous crimes that happened right above them. Haunted by the terrible things she saw and desperate to find answers, her obsession pulls her ever further from her husband.
Secrecy shrouds the mystery of the attic, but when shards of a dark truth start to emerge, Mia realises the danger is terrifyingly present. She is prepared to do anything to protect her family—but is it already too late?
MY THOUGHTS:
"I will save them from the attic."
Wow! I'm speechless. Seriously speechless! Where do I begin to review a book like this? Ok, first think of Fred and Rosemary West combined with Ian Brady and Myra Hindley...and multiply them a couple of generations! Then you have John Marrs' latest and probably darkest thriller yet KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY.
So Marr's is known for some really dark psychological thrillers. I've read two previously - "The Good Samaritan" and "What Lies Between Us"- and loved them despite how dark and twisted they were. But this one takes things to a whole new level of disturbing. I think it's the type of victim in this story that makes it all the more chilling. Don't worry, it's not graphic. Just...chilling.
Mia and Finn have just bought the house of their dreams...or it will be, once they've finished renovating it. A gothic Victorian five bedroom detached house that has stood derelict for four decades. Finn's parents Dave and Debbie had originally intended to purchase the property, renovate it then flip it but Mia had her heart set on it. Renovating is going to be a tall order but Dave is a builder and Finn is a plumber so between them, and their contacts in the trade, the men intend doing most of the work themselves.
And no sooner has work begun, than Mia suddenly discovers she is pregnant. The couple can barely believe it. And Debbie is excited at the prospect of a grandchild, despite the fact she and Mia have never gotten along. So it's decided the renovation will be undertaken in stages with the first stage ready for completion by the time the baby is due.
Then one day as Mia is surveying what will be the nursery, she discovers seven words etched into the skirting in a childish scrawl.
"I will save them from the attic."
Save who? And from what? All at once Mia sends Finn into the attic with Dave to take a look to see what is hidden up there. In her impatience she climbs the loft ladder to see for herself...and wishes she hadn't. For laid out are seven suitcases and inside each one of them is the body of a child. Shocked by the discovery and at seven months pregnant, Mia falls from the ladder breaking several bones and inducing a labour that would have her son prematurely born by caesarian. It's a miracle they both survived. But not completely unscathed. Almost every waking moment, all Mia can see are those dead children and so instills an even greater fear that she must protect baby Sonny from at all costs.
Of course the media have lapped up this juicy news of the "Babes in the Attic" as the police tear down their newly renovated home in search of clues as to who these children are and how they got there in the first place. And instead of leaving it to the police, Mia decides to do some investigating of her own...which can only have dire consequences.
And THAT is only a tip of the iceberg that sunk this tale of Titanic proportions! To find out what happens and where it leads you're going to have to find out for yourself because in all honesty, that's really the only way to experience a thriller as dark, disturbing and as chilling as this. Hearing about it is not believing...only seeing for yourselves can you really believe what you are reading. And there is no truer title than the one given to this story.
I knew from the very beginning when I read the opening prologue that this was going to be a dark and twisted read. Penned by an anonymous narrator who pops up throughout the story tells of the part they played in the abhorrent and chilling murders, the story then begins with Mia and Finn's respective narratives, also interspersed with Debbie and Dave's. We are also given excerpts of transcripts, interviews, newspaper articles and reports throughout at just the right time before lunging deeper into the past under the guise of the anonymous narrator. It is eye-opening, insightful and at times heartbreaking. The entire story is dysfunctional, as is the family it portrays, but it's the ending that is just too sad.
The story itself is filled with twists and red herrings that will keep you guessing - is it or isn't it? - leaving you wondering if you are able to figure them out. I did work out who the anonymous narrator was through a few drip-fed clues and things that were left unsaid. But that wasn't the only twist to be revealed...there are plenty more to come!
KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY is a twisted and delicious dark unnerving read that is chilling to the core. It makes you wonder what goes on in the author's mind to be able to conjure up such macabre plots! He did say in his note at the end that this story was the result of a dream and that you wouldn't want to be inside his head at the best of times let alone at night!
This is one of the most disturbing, tense and completely unputdownable thrillers I have read. It is atmospheric and addictive and oh so chilling. Everything I love in a dark thriller...and Marrs excels in this genre. I'm not a fan of sci-fi so I don't read those of his but these dark and twisted thrillers are right up my alley! I thought "The Good Samaritan" was dark and then "What Lies Between Us" which had echoes of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", a very dark movie for its time...but this one? It knocks those out of the ballpark! The entire story was oh so twisted and the epilogue was chilling.
But oh! What a read!!
I would like to thank #JohnMarrs, #NetGalley and #AmazonPublishing for an ARC of #KeepItInTheFamily in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
John Marrs is a former journalist from Northamptonshire, England, who spent 25 years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines. He wrote for publications including The Guardian’s Guide and Guardian Online; OK! Magazine; Total Film; Empire; Q; GT; The Independent; Star; Reveal; Company; Daily Star and News of the World’s Sunday Magazine.
Now a psychological thriller writer, his debut book 'The Wronged Sons' (also titled 'When You Disappeared') released in 2014 is a tense psychological thriller with over 240 x 5 star reviews on Amazon. His second book 'Welcome To Wherever You Are' is a suspense thriller and an Amazon #1 best seller, 'The One' (previously 'A Thousand Small Explosions') was relaunched in January 2017, 'The Good Samaritan' published in 2018 with his latest 'What Lies Between Us' published in May 2020.
He recently gave up his job to write novels full time. His first car at the age of seventeen was a three-door, Ford Escort with a Batman sticker in the rear windscreen. He thought the sticker was cool at the time.
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