“IT WAS A CASE THAT GRIPPED THE NATION
LUKE RYDER’S MURDER HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED

In October 2003, Luke Ryder was found dead in the garden of the family home in London, leaving behind a wealthy older widow and three stepchildren. Nobody saw anything.
Now, secrets will be revealed – live on camera.

Years later a group of experts re-examine the evidence on Infamous, a true-crime show – with shocking results. Does the team know more than they’ve been letting on?

Or does the truth lie closer to home?
Can you solve the case before they do?
The truth will blow your mind.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter. Murder in the Family was published by HarperFiction on 20th July 2023 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free eARC of Murder in the Family but that has in no way influenced my review.

Twenty years ago Luke Ryder was found dead in the garden of his West London home. To this day no one has been charged with Luke’s murder. Which is why his stepson, Guy Howard, has given permission for true crime series ‘Infamous’ to invite six experts to re-evaluate the evidence. Revealing long-held secrets and astonishing new evidence live on air. The information the team dig up make Guy and his family question everything that happened around that time in their lives. But the Howards aren’t the only ones with secrets. Will ‘Infamous’ finally reveal who killed Luke Ryder all those years ago…?

Murder in the Family is the first standalone novel from author Cara Hunter and also the first of Hunter’s books that I’ve read. I’m doubly ashamed of this because I grew up in Oxford and don’t live all that far away now. Being a local, I am very keen to make a start on the Oxford-based DI Adam Fawley series. Even more so after reading this highly intriguing tale (which is actually set in London). Murder in the Family and Guy’s hunt for the truth is told through mixed media. This includes CVs, text messages, news articles, internet forums, tv reviews (think Radio Times!), voicemail transcripts and emails. I’ve read several books which have used mixed media to tell the story but this was the first I’ve read on my Kindle. It was a very different experience reading this style of book digitally. To the point where I would strongly advise you to purchase a physical copy rather than take the digital option (I would also be very interested in listening to the full-cast audiobook version). However, saying that, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and was able to overlook the formatting issues that the Kindle copy presented to some degree. Normally I wouldn’t harp on about something like this in one of my reviews but I feel I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t mention the above observations.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Murder in the Family deserves the high praise it has received because it’s an excellent story told in such a clever, intriguing way. Clearly a lot of work has gone into this book and it absolutely shows. You get a good feel for the characters and the way they think despite only getting to know them through transcripts – that takes some skill. The mystery aspect is strong and I was desperate to work out whodunnit before the industry experts (which I did!). I thoroughly enjoyed how the tables were turned on the experts at points, and discovering the connections was really quite thrilling. There are plenty of lovely red herrings along the way which make you question what you thought you believed. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would pick up another by the author in a heartbeat. A very intriguing mystery with lots of twists and turns to keep you on your toes. Beautifully intricate with plenty of tension, lots of suspense and with a really intriguing mystery at its core. A cleverly told, complex crime thriller that I recommend to all fans of the genre. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Murder in the Family. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter was published in the UK by HarperFiction on 20th July 2023 and is available in audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

I’m the author of MURDER IN THE FAMILY, and the DI Adam Fawley series, set in Oxford.

I’ve always been a voracious reader and viewer of crime – I’ve learned so much from the outstanding writing that we now see on crime TV like Line of Duty or Broadchurch, and I’ve tried to recreate the experience of watching series like that for my readers. I’ve been using mixed media from the very first Fawley book – in fact, since before they started calling it mixed media! I love giving my readers different ways to explore the story and I’m such a geek that I do all my artwork myself. My favourite feedback is when readers tell me it’s like getting the raw material of the case, so they can be detectives themselves. That’s where the idea for MURDER IN THE FAMILY came from.

What else about me? I have a boy cat who does his best to distract me whenever I get close to a keyboard (if you have cats, you’ll know), I love travelling, spending time with friends, and I have never knowingly turned down a glass of champagne….