The Merton family puts the word FUN in the word "dysfunctional"; making this "whodunnit" mystery challenging to solve. Solid three stars. It was pretty predictable which was fine with me, but well written with a dark humor underlying it that gave a little edge. This is a classic messed up family story; no one communicates and the secrets have a tendency to eat everyone up.

The Happy Family: The gripping new psychological crime

Every mom wants to create and nurture a happy family. But if your own childhood wasn't so sunny, how do you know what that looks like? And even if you had a blissful upbringing, it's not always easy to define what, exactly, made your family life joyful. Was it the silly games you played on road trips, or the freedom you had to roam in and out of your neighbors' yards? Was it that you had good fortune never to experience a major tragedy, or was it that you had a close-knit clan that pulled together to support one another no matter what? Most of all, how can you make sure that the family you have now will be happy for the long haul? It’s been said there are four motives for murder: Lust, Love, Loathing, or Loot. There’s no shortage of the latter two here. There are no tears shed for Fred and Sheila, but plenty of anticipation and elation at the thought of the inheritance. I loved how the author dropped little secrets/bombshells throughout the book about the characters, that made me see each of them with new eyes.The short, alternating chapters, made it an incredibly fast read and I was fully engaged. After each perspective, I was sure I had it all figured out. She is a 'cuneiform' scholar at Chicago University. She's married to Michael -( 5 years)- about to turn 40 - trying to get pregnant, and avoid the 40th B day party her mother is throwing her. Cheri never thought she wanted kids but had a change of heart late in life. The theme of gaslighting is handled well and we see how seemingly insignificant remarks and incidents snowball so that the victim ends up questioning their own judgment and grasp on reality. Even though I didn’t care that much for Beth as a character it was still sad to see how much her life spins out of control, particularly when intimate film footage of her is posted on social media.

The Happy Family by Jackie Kabler | Goodreads

Having read her previous thriller "The Perfect Couple", I had high hopes for this book...and I wasn't disappointed. Addicted pretty much from the beginning, THE HAPPY FAMILY is anything but a happy family. But oh how it's dysfunctionality worked!Now everyone in the family is a suspect. They all had a motive. Most of them had an opportunity. Who done it? I had a lot of fun with this one as my mind kept changing through each of the different suspects and even through those who didn’t seem so guilty. What a scandalous bunch of liars!! The Merton adult children have lost their parents to a gruesome murder and they cannot get their stories straight. They stand to inherit millions or could lose everything.