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3.0 stars�� “Not a Happy Family�� is the fifth book I have read by Shari Lapena. This makes the third book of hers that I rated 3 stars, and I rated one 1 star so this will probably be the last Lapena book I will read for a while. I think after 5 books I finally figured out why I am middle of the road when it comes to reviewing her books: it is that her books read like a Wikipedia version of a good thriller. To say that the narrative is stripped down is an understatement. It is definitely difficult to connect to any of the characters when all you get is the briefest snapshot of their lives. Even though the plot of her books are always fast paced, the dialogue is stilted and when not invested in the characters it is very hard to really enjoy the story. “Family�� begins with the murder of Fred and Sheila Merton (who are despised by their kids) which causes them all to become suspects based on their lies, suspicious actions and motive to get their hands on their several million dollar inheritance. All of the characters are suspects and the author does a great job of keeping the reader guessing til the end. However, based on the problems I addressed above I just couldn’t get fully involved with the story or characters so 3 stars it is