Sample
  • Not a Happy Family

  • A Novel
  • By: Shari Lapena
  • Narrated by: Ellen Archer
  • Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (3,672 ratings)

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Not a Happy Family

By: Shari Lapena
Narrated by: Ellen Archer
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Publisher's summary

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

“Lapena is a master of manipulation. With her latest page-turning thriller… she is once again at the top of her game.” —USA Today

“In this fast-paced, twisted family saga, Shari Lapena keeps you guessing until the very last page...” Paula Hawkins

In this family, everyone is keeping secrets—even the dead.

Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there, and Fred and Sheila Merton certainly are rich. But even all their money can't protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mertons are brutally murdered after a fraught Easter dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.

Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their vindictive father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of the siblings is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did someone snap after that dreadful evening? Or did another person appear later that night with the worst of intentions? That must be what happened. After all, if one of the family were capable of something as gruesome as this, you'd know.

Wouldn't you?

©2021 Shari Lapena (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Who wouldn’t be drawn to a book called Not a Happy Family?,... Like [her] earlier best sellers.... Not a Happy Family splashes into a stew of nightmares.” (New York Times)

“Lapena is a master of manipulation. With her latest page-turning thriller.... She is once again at the top of her game.... Lapena does what she does best, so much so that trying to put the book down is futile. Once you start reading, you won't want to stop.” (USA Today)

“A quintessential ‘beach read,’ I half expected sand to fall out of it. This one brings lurid family mayhem to the Hudson Valley [and] plausible suspects. With her cascading short chapters and teasers by the dozen, you stick with Lapena eagerly.” (Washington Post)

Featured Article: Home Is Where the Harm Is—The Best Domestic Thriller Audiobooks


Every neighborhood has a story. It could be the tragedy that took place years ago, or maybe an urban legend about that creepy house down the street. Or perhaps it's the new couple on the block who seem to be hiding something. These tales of suspense and mystery are what drive the popularity of the fastest growing subgenre of thrillers: the domestic thriller. We’ve made this list to help you choose the best domestic thriller audiobooks out there.

What listeners say about Not a Happy Family

Average customer ratings
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good Book!

This book kept me interested to the end. Never have I disliked so many characters. The whole family were a bunch of entitled snobs. The story was good and left me questioning who did til the end.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Money doesn’t mean happiness

A wealthy family proves money can’t make you happy. It can sometimes make you greedy, selfish and cruel. Exactly what the head of this family has proven. This family has treated his family and others in just this way which leads him to a gross death.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Provo to author & reader great ending loved it!!

a must finish had to know the end of this mystery entertaining clear voice

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Had us guessing the entire time

Enjoyed the story and the narration, quick chapters keeps the story moving right up to the epilogue.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling whodunit!

Shari Lapena at her best. Complex mystery with many plot twists in a believable scenario.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great from beginning to end!

This book drew me right in! A real page-turner! You can't get guess the ending if you tried, so many twists and turns!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Good read!

I really enjoyed the way this book was written. I definitely tried hard to guess who did it, but I was pretty shocked at the end. I recommend it!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Good story not great

Too many twists and turns to keep track. Narration was good characters interesting credit worthy but could have been and hour or more shorter

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

SO good

Best book I’ve read in a while. Twist and turns the whole way that made me second guess everything.

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Great book!

I really liked this book- from the start to the finish! It kept me guessing…

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