A Killer in the Family by Gytha Lodge - (ARC) Review

 

Thank you to Random House Publishing, NetGalley, & the author for the ARC! 

Release Date: August 8, 2023 (4/13/23 in UK)

Get it here - A Killer in the Family

SUMMARY:

A woman uploads her DNA online, searching for her father—but the man who contacts her is Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens. From the acclaimed author of Little Sister, this endlessly twisty crime novel asks: What might a family do to protect or expose a serial killer in its midst?

When the police found the first body, left on a bonfire in the fields, they worried it had the hallmarks of a serial killer.

Now, as they find the second, they know for sure.

Panic about the "bonfire killer" quickly spreads through the sedate, suburban area of Southampton. Women are urged not to travel alone at night, and constant vigilance is encouraged among the local residents. But single mom Aisling Cooley has a lot to distract her: two beloved teenage sons and a quest to find her long-lost father, whom she hasn't seen since she was a teenager growing up in Ireland.

After much debate she decides to upload her DNA to an ancestry website, and when she gets a match, she is filled with an anxious excitement, that her questions about her father's disappearance from her life might finally be answered.

But to her horror, it's not her father who's found her. It's a detective.

And they say her DNA is a close match for the bonfire killer.

MY THOUGHTS:

DNA uploaded to an online ancestry site is matched with DNA from a crime scene. 

The beginning pages suck you in immediately. There are several storylines going on and the author truly did a great job developing the characters and really allowing you to get to know each one of them. Although I did find it to be a bit slow at times, the chapters are short. Don't worry, there is plenty of mystery to keep you intrigued throughout. The last chapter really left me stunned. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and will be grabbing the previous books from the DCI Jonah Sheens Series.