The New Family by Victoria Jenkins
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 22nd June 2025
Published: 16th November 2021
★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
You just met your new neighbours, but they already know you…
As I open the door to the house I grew up in, I take in the family photos I haven’t looked at since my sister died. It will never be the happy place it once was, not since that night twenty years ago. Renting it to a new family is a fresh start, and single dad Oliver and his sweet son Finley seem like the perfect fit.
Calling by the house, I notice how few belongings they have; no toys for Finley or pictures of his mother. Why does Oliver shut down when I ask him about his life? And who is the man I see him arguing with in the street? I thought he was a stranger to this small town…
Fearing for Finley’s safety, I let myself inside in search of answers. But the smiling face in the photo I find hidden in Oliver’s bedroom chills me to my core. He knows exactly who I am and all the secrets of my past. Breath catches in my throat. Is my life now in terrible danger?
The New Family is an addictive psychological thriller with a twist you won’t see coming, perfect for fans of The Wife, The Silent Patient and Lisa Jewell
MY THOUGHTS:
I've seen many post trigger warnings for this book but I don't think it is needed as most psychological thrillers often have an element of these things. But not only that, they are so subtle or are just part of a backstory that they are not really the main event. All but one of them, that is. And even so, it is just subtle nuances that allude to it - a photo here, a message there - nothing so in your face to warrant clear cut warnings.
It's been a while since I've read Victoria Jenkins and I've usually enjoyed her thrillers so was looking forward to this one. Especially as they are generally featured in Wales, one of my favourite settings. This tale of woe (and it really is) was published back in 2021 and somehow slipped through my shelf. It's a slow burn with two parallel stories unfolding through alternating chapters with the reader wondering how the two will collide.
September 2019: Brooke is taking a walk along the coastal path to her favourite secluded beach when she meets handsome Oliver and his young son Finley. Oliver is looking for somewhere to stay and as Brooke rents out her childhood home as a holiday let, which is currently standing vacant until her next booking in January, she offers them the use of the little cottage. When he and Finley move in, Brooke is surprised with how few belongings they have but doesn't question it. Who is she to judge anyway with the skeletons rattling around in her closet?
Then the little gallery and loft in which she lives and sells her paintings suddenly burns down in which she loses everything. The fire is investigated and soon deemed to be arson but the police are no closer to finding the perpetrator, leaving Brooke without a home until it is repaired. But her lifelong friend and neighbour Sylvia lets her move into her spare room indefinitely which proves to be a godsend. She begins to spend a lot of time with Oliver and Finley. Despite the little boy being quiet and introverted, he begins to warm to Brooke but it is clear he is haunted by something which makes him withdrawn and always looking so sad. Added to that, he has begun sleepwalking.
The more time Brooke spends with Oliver and Finley the more she in curious about their past. She has so many questions about where they've come from? How did they end up here in Wales? Where is Fin's mother? What is their story? But again, Brooke can hardly judge given her own past. She's just curious.
February 2018: Juggling motherhood and her job as a physiotherapist, Christina is married to Matthew and mother to twins Elise and Edward. But she's not happy and she doesn't know why that is when she has an adoring husband and two beautiful, yet demanding, toddlers. She has been embarking on an illicit affair with lawyer Joel who had come to her a client with a football injury.
But when Christina breaks off their affair, Joel doesn't appear to take it well. Soon he bombards her with bizarre gifts, strange phone calls and messages - all threatening by nature with the undertone of "tick tock, time is running out". For what? Is he threatening to reveal their affair to her husband? Her family? Her friends? Or worse... her clients? Is Joel trying to win her back through his threats or does he want to ruin her life? If Matthew discovers her secret, he will surely take the twins and she wouldn't see her children again. Just the anxiety of this whole debacle is making her sick - and Matthew has noticed her constant headaches and nausea so it won't be long until he figures out just what she has been hiding. And Christina has no idea what she will do then...
The slow burn unfold of each tale is twisted with both women and the secrets they are hiding, giving the reader plenty of questions about how these two women are related to the same story. I must admit, I had no clue at first - so different they were. Brooke in Wales, Christina in London. Not only that, the events take place around 18 months apart. I had many questions running through my mind until I settled on one that seemed to fit. I picked up little nuances, little clues that Jenkins peppered throughout both stories, and I was convinced I had one half of the big reveal. And I did. Once I worked that out, it wasn't difficult to figure out the rest.
I must say though you will have to suspend belief a little - as is usually the way with psychological thrillers - and the story does get a little convoluted, particularly with how it all collides into one big explosion. I will say that things ramped up for the last 20% and that's where it all became interesting and everything fell into place. Prior to that, it was very slow moving. A little too slow for my tastes but my interest was piqued enough to keep turning the pages and I'm glad I did because you do get there in the end. I didn't not like the book - I just think the slow burn was far too long.
This is a hard book to rate. I'm not a fan of slow burns and tend to fall asleep at the non-event of happenings but I think it was one woman's story that kept me turning the pages. I felt more invested in Brooke's than I did in Christina's. I didn't care for her as I felt she had everything and yet it still wasn't enough so she went looking elsewhere. Plus Brooke's story unfolded in Wales which was a far more picturesque setting, if not unstable in both weather and WiFi. LOL It was still an enjoyable read and I am leaning towards 3.5 stars - but to round it up or down? I'd round it down for the 80% slow burn (too much in my opinion) or up for the satisfying conclusion.
Just a bit of trivia: I found it ironic that one of the characters is Christina and her husband is Matthew. My name is Christina and my brother is Matthew.
I would like to thank #VictoriaJenkins, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheNewFamily in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
The series of novels features Detective Constable Chloe Lane and Detective Inspector Alex King, who are the lead investigative characters that solve some mysterious murders in their hometown.
Her first psychological thriller, The Divorce, was published in July 2019. The second, The Argument, was published December 10th 2019 and The Accusation was published June 9th 2020, followed by The Playdate, The New Family and The Bridesmaids.
Victoria lives with her husband and daughter in South Wales, where her series of crime novels featuring Detectives King and Lane is based.
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