Keep It in the Family

Keep It in the Family (2022) is a psychological thriller written by British author John Marrs, whose other popular works include The One (2016) and What Lies Between Us (2020). The novel explores the story of first-time homeowners Finn and Mia Hunter, who are renovating their first home with the help of Finn’s parents, Dave and Debbie. During the renovation process, Mia discovers a cryptic message scratched into the floorboards: “I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC” (46). The discovery—along with Mia’s unexpected pregnancy—sparks an obsessive investigation into the house’s history. The intimate reflections of Finn, Mia, Dave, and Debbie are intricately intertwined with reports from local newspapers, interviews with village residents, and excerpts from true-crime books, each revealing the hidden depths of the Hunter family’s secrets. Additional chapters are narrated from the first-person perspective of an unnamed stalker who murders children and describes each murder in graphic detail.

Keep It in the Family is Marrs’s ninth novel, and in keeping with his overall body of work, it explores the darkest corners of the human psyche, the dangers of self-deception, and the deadly impact of lies within a family.