Keep It in the Family in On The Same Page

Jan 27, 2025 Robin rated it liked it

this book is about a couple, Mia and Finn, that buy a house that requires a lot of fixing up, but will eventually be their dream house to raise their family in. which is kind of relevant since they just found out she is expecting their first child. while they are renovating, Mia finds a creepy message written on the wall of one of the bedrooms, which leads them to a horrific discovery in their attic. that was enough to get me interested, plus i have read a few other books by this author and this this book is about a couple, Mia and Finn, that buy a house that requires a lot of fixing up, but will eventually be their dream house to raise their family in. which is kind of relevant since they just found out she is expecting their first child. while they are renovating, Mia finds a creepy message written on the wall of one of the bedrooms, which leads them to a horrific discovery in their attic. that was enough to get me interested, plus i have read a few other books by this author and this book in particular has been so hyped up for a long time in several book social media groups i am a member of on facebook since the author is very popular. i have read a few of his books now and some are definitely better than others. while this book was good, there are some really vile moments described in a lot of detail that made parts of it very difficult to read and maybe triggering (A LOT of child abuse and murders). this one was not as suspenseful and i had figured out a lot of things prior to them being revealed. since most of my thoughts are spoilery... (view spoiler)[

i knew that one of Finn's parents was the unnamed narrator and that they had a connection to the house because they did not want Mia and Finn to buy it and wanted it for themselves, though eventually they relented. so that made me believe it was one of the parents narrating when they were a child since those chapters are told years prior. i also realized that Finn was the missing baby since the body was not found in one of the suitcases. it was not shocking, though horrific how there were several generations of murdering in this family (hence how the title makes sense) for no given particular justifiable reason to murder innocent children and if that was not bad enough, it was even more vile that the parents of each generation forced their own children to be the bait to lure their victims.

also, most of the characters were not very likeable. i did not like that Mia went after Finn while he was already in a relationship. and then Finn wanted to have his cake and eat it too, which leads me to one of the biggest letdowns of this book, which was learning what the infamous chapter 39 was really about. there were so many different scenarios i imagined but to have it revealed that Finn a two-timing jackass leading a double life, with two different baby mamas since he never really stopped seeing his ex after he married Mia was a big disappointment. and then the fact that he hid his son from her for almost two whole years to 'keep him safe' from his mother (once it was revealed that she was the killer/ child of killers/ kidnapped her son and then her grandson and was finally put away for her crimes) because even though she was locked up, she still had too much control was not cool. then he goes ahead and continues with the family traditions and brings their son into it, too. ugh. and Finn's parents were not any more likeable that Mia or Finn since Dave knew what Debbie was doing yet turned a blind eye, and Debbie was the biggest villain being a child of murderers/ a murderer herself/ kidnapper/ etc. so yeah this is one family i did not like very much. (hide spoiler)]

overall, it was a fast-paced read with quick chapters and though i figured out some things before they were revealed, it did not ruin anything. am i glad to have finally read this so i can join the understanding of chapter 39 (although its actual meaning was disappointing) and know what the hype was all about? sure. am i glad to not have chosen this as my pick for my book club to read being that it has a lot of controversial subject matter? definitely. will i read other books by this author. yes. it was still good, but i liked some of his other books better. ...more

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Aug 19, 2025 Jami rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-thriller-legal

This was a fast paced book, told from various POVs. I was engaged in the plot and the ending was definitely creepy. Parts were predictable, yet I still enjoyed the book overall.

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