"Not a Happy Family"

 "Not a Happy Family" by Shari Lapena 

Money, Money, Money.

Fred and Sheila Merton have lots of it. Just look at their

magnificent home in the exclusive Brecken Hill estates in

upstate New York. Fred's shrewd acumen for business has

afforded him the life of luxury. 

But behind the scenes, the walls of this splendid home would

tell a story of a dysfunctional family with a vindictive, often cruel

patriarch, and a detached mother who couldn't be bothered with 

the monumental task of raising three very different children,

all longing for unconditional love.

The annual, obligatory Easter dinner this year with Fred, Sheila, their 

grown children and significant others, is especially contentious. And 

that night, after all the angry goodbyes, an unknown intruder bludgeons

Fred and Sheila to death, in what police describe as a vicious and 

brutal crime. Clearly someone hated the Mertons with a passion. 

The grieving children, of course, are overwhelmed with shock and

sorrow. But are they really? As recipients of a sizable inheritance, it

isn't long before investigators target each, or all of them, as prime 

suspects in their parents' violent demise. The millions coming their 

way would certainly solve insurmountable problems, but first the 

police have to prove it. 

The Merton family is about as unhappy as a family can be. And it's

been that way for a long time. Just ask Irena, the loyal housekeeper

and nanny who quietly observes every little thing that goes on.

She knows exactly what each child has endured throughout their 

childhoods. As adults, they're all hiding tawdry, salacious secrets, but who 

actually had the motive and means to carry out such a cold-hearted, 

dastardly deed? Then again, maybe the kids weren't the only ones

about to become filthy rich. 

Expect to be thrown off the trail time and time again, until the last

few pages in this fun, one sitting, whodunit with a divinely, delicious

ending.