She has no alibi for the night of the murder. Her aunt Audrey suspects Jenna was the murderer as she remembers her as being violent when angry as a child. Three traumatized children: one of them or all may have inherited the genes of their father, suffering from same psychopathic tendencies to commit such a brutal crime! I loved how the lead detective thought everyone he interviewed was the killer. There is a lot of scrambling, a lot of lies, a lot of secrets, a lot of trying to protect others while protecting oneself. There are a lot of liars with their pants on fire in this book. Not all that glitters is gold. Sometimes those who look like they have it all don't have much in terms of common decency. A well developed cast of characters were delightfully malcontent and rotten to the core which meant that I was on board with any one of them being held culpable for the misdeeds happening here.

She’s hiding some family secrets, including the fact that Fred killed his own father and staged it to look like suicide. As she’s snooping around about the murders, someone breaks into her house and tries to poison her. 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. They gather together for the Easter dinner from hell, where Fred makes an announcement that has all the children leaving hurriedly, angry and upset. Even Irena, the housekeeper who had been the children’s nanny, leaves. Audrey, Fred’s sister, missed the dinner, but she has a complicated history with her brother, and was my favorite character. Her loathing of the Merton children was visceral.That is actually the case with the whole book. It seems like it was brought to us in such... passive way that the it was hard to be emotionally invested. Each family member(including the deceased couple) was repugnant, loathsome, and distasteful in different ways. One or more members of the Merton family is possibly a psychopath. Eldest daughter Catherine and her husband, leave in a huff, followed closely behind by beleaguered middle child, Dan and his wife, Lisa. Even the former nanny/now part time housekeeper Irena is angry! Shortly after, their youngest daughter, Jenna and her current boy toy Jake say their goodbyes. Audrey had always admired Irena, while she despised Sheila. Irena did her best for those kids, no one could deny that. She stepped in and did the mothering that Sheila wouldn’t, or couldn’t, do.”

What did you think of Audrey as an amateur detective? She suspected Jenna all along, and she was right. We’re free. All of us, we’re free of him.” Catherine’s face falls; she looks appalled. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” she says repressively. “And I would keep thoughts like that to yourself.” The family is nervous, anxious, untrusting. I don't believe any of them! They are all liars, maybe psychopaths too. 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.I've read quite a few Shari Lapena books now, and I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with them. I think I've finally figured out that I adore her mysteries (someone is killed and there are multiple suspects), while I don't like her domestic thrillers (husband or wife could be lying, so are they or aren't they). This mystery definitely goes onto my list of favorites from her. This was just great entertainment. It’s a book I wanted to find as many hours a day as possible to listen to. I tore through it. I had no clue who committed the murders. Such a great ending! When the storyline was recircling, many times I felt that the text was repetitive and drawn out, like the author had a word count to meet.

This book was a rollercoaster. I loved but also HATED how many different POV this book was told in. I didn’t really like any of the characters but the mystery of “who dunnit” saved it for me. But are those kids only the ones to inherit the will, or are there other people who could be suspect of this killings? You’ll love to hate the flawed, spoilt characters in this addictive, fast-paced drama… This is a well-plotted whodunnit with twists and turns in every chapter to keep readers on their toes.” They have three children. All of them were at Easter dinner. Two of them were with their spouses. One was with a random “boyfriend”. The former nanny and current cleaning lady was there too. One guest couldn’t make it.The night ends early, with everyone leaving a bit disgruntled. Ahhh, dinners with family, am I right? Lapena’s latest another chilling thrill ride…All those clichés about being unable to put down a book, for once they’re true.” Jenna was the last one to leave the dinner, about an hour later than her siblings. During that time, her father told her he was changing his will. Somewhere around 50% mark we all thought we figured out who the killer was, but I am glad to say we were wrong.