The In-Laws by Laura Wolfe
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense
Read: 27th January 2023
Published: 26th January 2023
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
I peered over the ledge with my heart in my throat. A pop of color caught my eye – I would recognize that jacket anywhere. The body I knew so well lay still, torso twisted one way, head facing the other…
I’d planned this trip to the gorgeous, remote Michigan woodlands as a last-ditch attempt to help Pete and our families’ bond before the wedding of our dreams. Instead, it has turned into a nightmare that I can’t seem to wake up from. Anger, resentment, and heated arguments weren’t at all what Pete and I had imagined, even less so the horror of discovering a dead body…
Looking around the campsite at my terrified family and future in-laws, I realize that someone on this trip has been keeping secrets from me. What could be dangerous enough to kill for? But then again, I also have secrets of my own, something that if known, could be deadly. The only thing I know for certain is that the murderer is ruthless enough to do anything to keep their story hidden.
Who will be next to pay the ultimate price?
An utterly gripping psychological thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of The Couple Next Door, The Woman in the Window and Behind Closed Doors.
MY THOUGHTS:
Two families...countless secrets...the perfect nightmare...
Not sure why I've not read Laura Wolfe before but this one hell of a convoluted mess involving secrets, lies, more secrets, more lies...and some clever deception. Add that to two "very different" families and a remote wilderness walk in a National Park...what could possibly go wrong? And just which of them fails to make it out alive?
Abigail and Pete are engaged. But their respective parents failed to connect the one and only time they met some months before. So in an attempt to bond and to get to know each other before the wedding, Abigail organises a wilderness tour with guide Liam who had taken her colleagues out on a similar (though shorter) tour some months before. Abigail has seen Liam's bonding efforts and knows he can work wonders with the sparring families...or is this one a little out of his league?
Abigail's mum Kristen is a psychiatrist while her father John works in commercial real estate. In fact it was through her father that she met Pete who works with him. Her parents love Pete, John often saying he is the son they never had. Kristen and John have a luxurious lifestyle and high standards so when they met Pete's parents they were surprised at the difference between them. Kenny and Darla are somewhat average, if not kooky, with a few secrets that leave everyone wondering if they've made the right choice in making this trip.
There are several hints along the way that make them second guess themselves if this really is a good idea. But the group remain positive...until the families begin to clash and then one thing after another goes wrong. Items go missing, food is ruined and then there are the strange messages left in the dirt at each of their campsites. Is someone stalking them, knowing their route and going ahead of them to spook them? When one of them winds up dead, they all start pointing fingers. Who among them is a killer? And what do they really want?
OK so first up, Pete's parents Kenny and Darla are a little eccentric. Kenny spends his days watching reality TV (then boring others with the details) while Darla is a "mystic Meg" who is never without her crystals and Tarot cards. She read a couple of palms giving some vague answers to what she saw without really giving any clear answers. But then if she had, then we wouldn't have a story, would we? But is she for real? Or a fraud? Abigail's parents are straight-laced and maybe a little snobbish. They love Pete but his family is strange...so how did they end up with such a normal child? The two families couldn't be more different.
And hiking...camping...in the wilderness for three days? I couldn't think of anything worse! Spiders, snakes and all sorts of creepy crawlies. Not to mention no mobile phone signal. What if something went wrong? How would they contact emergency services when they are a full day's trek into a remote National Park? The whole wilderness tour and remoteness of it all has all the creepy hallmarks of the perfect storm. And what unfolded out there in all that nothingness just confirms everything I think about being in the middle of nowhere. Just no.
And then there's the whole in-laws thing. The coming together of two very different families...who couldn't be any more different than these two are in the middle of nowhere...what could go wrong?
THE IN-LAWS is a page-turning psychological and domestic thriller that will keep you guessing. This is a classic whodunit reminiscent of the locked room theory...only the players are in the remote wilderness. Same concept, different setting. The pieces finally slot into place for me and it became glaringly obvious at that point that I wanted to shout it out and warn everyone! Can you guess who it is?
I have mixed feelings about the epilogue because I felt it tainted a particular character I felt didn't need it. But at the same time, I also thought it was very clever. Those closing lines especially...
Overall, THE IN-LAWS is an edgy domestic thriller that is an entertaining read with a disturbing level of secrets, lies and distrust that is perfect for fans of this genre.
I would like to thank #LauraWolfe, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheInLaws in exchange for an honest review.
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