Review - The Family Tree by Steph Mullen & Nicole Mabry
I received an advanced copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
I read a fair number of thrillers and mysteries, so I’m always keen to snap up advanced copies in those genres. I really respect a mystery author who can lead the reader along, dropping clues, and then completely surprise them at the end. This book was trying to be one of those mysteries, but the execution was not great.
The Family Tree is told from two different perspectives: Liz, a young woman seeking to learn more about her biological family, and an unidentified (until the end) serial killer. I feel like this book had a great premise, possibly inspired by some real-life criminal cases solved using familial DNA. But the authors seemed to struggle to make the protagonist (Liz) likable and relatable, and to lead the reader toward the solution. Instead, readers are stuck tagging along with Liz, who makes terrible decisions, alienates those closest to her, and rushes into danger, only solving any mysteries by accident. And the big mystery—the identity of the killer—was a big disappointment for me. I don’t want to spoil too much, but let’s just say the killer’s identity seems to come out of nowhere.
Another problem I found with this story is the epilogue, which sets the stage for a sequel, maybe? We spend an entire novel getting to know the main characters, only to suddenly have two additional characters thrown in at the last second. They seemed like an afterthought. This book left me with a lot of unanswered questions because the authors didn’t provide the breadcrumbs to lead me organically to the solution.
This book was not a total miss. It kept me turning pages and I read to the end. I thought some portions were well-executed, such as the premise of how the serial killer operated and the storyline of the victims. I found most of the characters to be rather one-dimensional and unnatural, though I did like Liz’s cousin Andie and her boyfriend Travis.
One thing I will say about this book is that it is pretty clean for a thriller about a serial killer. There isn’t much adult language or sexual content. So readers who are sensitive to those things, but still want to read the genre may find the book appealing in that way.
The Family Tree by Steph Mullen and Nicole Mabry is releasing October 5, 2021.
