Family Reunion

by Carol Smith

Odile Annesley has been living in self-imposed exile in France for forty years following a family tragedy. With her eightieth birthday approaching, she contacts her scattered grandchildren to give them details of her will. The five very different granddaughters see it as the perfect opportunity for a get-together. There’s solidly married Clemency, the perfect wife and mother; ambitious London property dealer, Madeleine; chic Parisian dress designer, Elodie; academic Isabelle from Quebec; and poor, deprived Cherie, the misfit. And Harry, the golden boy. Each has grown up in their own world but, as in all families, the shared characteristics are there. Then the killing starts, the secrets spill, and it becomes clear that one of them is very different indeed.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Modern

401 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian's Note: There is more than one author with this name.

Carol Smith was born in London and worked in the book trade, both in London and New York, before becoming a full-time writer herself. For much of that time she ran her own literary agency, focussed on finding and developing new talent, although now her own writing takes up most of her time. She lives in Kensington. She also writes under the name Alex Crowe.

Reviews

[Paula Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading about incest, this is the book for you!

I was quite disgusted by the fact that Dominic Carlisle was basically trying to sleep with all six of his second cousins. Gross! What on earth was wrong with him?

By the end, it wasn't really clear why the killer was killing or why they chose those particular people to kill and not others. Or maybe I was so turned off by the constant incest that I wasn't really all that interested in paying attention!

[Petra Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit I am easily confused by too many names and too many connections, so had a hard time getting into this book. It didn't help that there were mistakes in the "family tree". For instance Cherie and Ashley appear as siblings in the chart, whereas they are mother and son (unless I missed something important). It's an intriguing yarn, but Dominic and his sexual obsession with his cousins still gives me the creeps, whatever his real occupation, and if I was Madeleine I'd just keep running.... The thing that really freaked me out though was a minor detail mentioned by Agnes. That the boat who helped them sorting out the family shame was apparently "lost at sea" - with a shrug. Oh the contempt and the arrogance for "mere servants". Before that, I had a modicum of compassion with Agnes and Odile but not after. Killers, the lot of them, and Agnes and Odile weren't any better than the "real" killer they sheltered.

[DrJ]

Reading this author in 2015 after a 6 year gap since the one before proved how quickly expectations rise. Or this was not one of Smith's better attempts.

It has an intriguing plot and a twist at the end I only just worked out before it was revealed.

But this book has 2 inherent flaws:

The ending is too abrupt. It felt as though the reader was expected to go back and fill in the gaps from information already provided.

At the start, some of the information in the family tree does not match the text. One "error" is explained later as it's part of the plot, but because there were other mistakes, and I wasn't keen on some of the content, this book was just not for me.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, in the way that it kept me interested in finding out the answer to the mystery and so kept me reading until the end. The incestuous cousins were pretty disturbing to read about and there are a lot of names and relationships to remember. The first quarter of the book is all trying to figure out who is related to whom and how that figures into the present story, since it goes back a few generations. Luckily, there is a family tree in the beginning of the book, which I referenced often. This is definitely not the best Carol Smith book I've read but it did keep me entertained.

[Suzeworld · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well she does quite a good job of keeping you appraised of who is who in this ludicrous family tree and multiple timelines and locations.
It’s a really annoying book. Bad enough to make me want to throw it in the bin. Just good enough to make me want to know what’s behind it all. I’m certainly not recommending it and putting it in the bin now!

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a slow burn suspense novel that unearths tension and secrets in a family during a reunion. Honestly the execution of this book was underwhelming, throughout the book there was a sense of unease and tension but the way the book is paced takes away from the thrill. The build up is so prolonged that it doesn't quite hit. It's not a bad book, just not memorable.

[Bian is always tired · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrific book. Poor story, terrible plot, too many characters and mountains of incest.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was unable to put this down. The twist at the end blew my mind.

[Melissa Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

[Bridget Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first book by this author. Reading the back of it, sounded intriguing so I picked it up. The family tree is so large, you have to constantly flip back and forth between where you are reading and the family tree they provide which can be annoying as there are so many characters presented in the beginning. It starts off interesting, introducing all of the characters in the book. One thing I did not enjoy was the way the one cousin was going around flirting and kissing and sleeping with some of his other cousins while not telling them who he was. Then they all find out and they continue to want to be with him. It's weird that it's ok for cousins to be together when that is not the case today so I was really thrown by that and didn't understand it or like it at all especially when the author made a specific point of saying the grandparents were cousins and they married and had 10 children and that was taboo and shouldn't be done; however, acted like it was ok for these other cousins to do it. So weird and gross. I was able to guess who was doing the murdering although I couldn't figure out why but then it all becomes somewhat clear in the end. You don't get all of the answers and quite frankly it's all a little weird to begin with but it was a different and interesting read. I may try one more of her books to see if it's better.

[Maureen Vincent-Northam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odile Annesley has lived alone in France for forty odd years. She contacts her grandchildren in order to give them the gist of her will and they get together and plan a family party in France.

We get to meet many of this family – and there are at least a million of them so it was, at times, very confusing. Some characters’ lives were more interesting than others and, where we were subjected to those whose stories didn’t form the main action, I have to admit I found myself skimming over the text.

A mysterious young man enters the storylines that involved the five very different granddaughters and, throughout, we get taken back to past times when various people were married to somebody else and read about sudden deaths of people we never really get to meet (did I say it was confusing?)

But, the second half of the book had me riveted and the closer it got to the climax, the more gripping it was. Improbable at times perhaps, but absorbing and pretty scary.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the synopsis on the inside cover, thinking this was a real whodunit book by a British author. And it is, in a way, with a lot of focus on several cousins in a very large family that is spread out around the world. Some of the family members have never even met. There is a family tree outlined before the book even begins, and I found myself referring back to it very often, as the author brings each family member into the story. It has some very interesting twists, and by the time I got halfway through, I couldn't hardly put it down. It begins with the murders of two elderly family members, and then takes off from there. I have another book of this author and will most likely look for more, as I really did enjoy the book. It was different from what I have read before and was a good change for me. I would recommend it.

[Jenness · Rating 1 out of 5]

this one was too confusing for me to stay with it. there were too many characters introduced within the first few chapters and I just couldn't keep their relationships straight. I was spending more time flipping to the front of the book to try to find people on the family tree than actually reading the story. I did skip to the back (something I rarely do) just to satisfy my curiousity as to how it ended. that was sufficient.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly good modern gothic novel set in the U. S. and France. There were many characters, all related to each other, which became confusing at times. The author provided a family tree to let the reader know who was whom. I referred back to it many times. The pace was good; I wanted to keep reading the book after my bedtime and did some nights. Would recommend this author to others.

[MicheleinNJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of like an Agatha Christie story, where a group of people are gathered together in a creepy house and get killed off one by one. The surprise ending wasn't all that surprising.

[Joni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great mystery. Many family members to keep track of but still a good read.

[Kaylol · Rating 2 out of 5]

An unexpected ending..

[Alison Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read but a bit confusing at times as there were so many family members. Had to keep checking the family tree provided at the front.

[Robyn Teare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this book and it was well written, but I worked out who the murderer was fairly early on, and Dominic's interaction with Harry was never properly explained which really annoyed me.