Catherine Steadman
September 2022
ISBN: 9780593158067 (ISBN10: 0593158067)
About:
A rich, eccentric family. A time-honored tradition. Or a lethal game of survival? One woman finds out what it really takes to join the 1% in this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water, Mr. Nobody, and The Disappearing Act.
Harry is a novelist on the brink of stardom; Edward, her husband-to-be, is seemingly perfect. In love and freshly engaged, their bliss is interrupted by the reemergence of the Holbecks, Edward’s eminent family and the embodiment of American old money. For years, they’ve dominated headlines and pulled society’s strings, and Edward left them all behind to forge his own path. But there are eyes and ears everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they were pulled back in . . .
After all, even though he’s long severed ties with his family, Edward is set to inherit it all. Harriet is drawn to the glamour and sophistication of the Holbecks, who seem to welcome her with open arms, but everything changes when she meets Robert, the inescapably magnetic head of the family. At their first meeting, Robert slips Harry a cassette tape, revealing a shocking confession which sets the inevitable game in motion.
What is it about Harry that made him give her that tape? A thing that has the power to destroy everything? As she ramps up her quest for the truth, she must endure the Holbecks’ savage Christmas traditions all the while knowing that losing this game could be deadly.
My Review:
What a creepy family. The outcome was shocking. This book is gripping, you really do not see the conclusion coming. Harry is a novelist about to hit the big time with no family of her own, she is engaged to the enigmatic but breathtakingly handsome Edward Holbeck whose large family are very wealthy. This is an opportunity for Harry to have the family she craved. Edward however is reluctant for her to meet his family as they are considered tight knit and strange, something he is not keen to be part of, forging his own life outside of them. Harry’s first encountered with the Holbecks results in her being thrust into cat and mouse game, something of an Holbeck tradition. The head of the household Robert Holbeck is intrigued with Harry and you get the feeling there is an undercurrent of sexual tension between them. Robert gives Harry an old cassette tape which unravels buried secrets they both carry. This story moves at pace, the family games frustrate and raise the heart rate, longing them to be over but wanting to know what the outcome will be. All is not how it seems.
