My Family and Other Suspects

by Kate Emery

Holly Jackson meets Agatha Christie in this cosy modern-day YA murder mystery where your closest family are your prime suspects.

'Do you want to talk about a fictional murder in a book or do you want to talk about the actual murder that happened under our roof?'

Ruth is less-than-thrilled to be spending the weekend at the family farm visiting the ancient GG, her coolly distant step-grandmother. With no internet or phone coverage, she occupies herself by re-reading old Agatha Christie novels, eavesdropping on the adults and definitely not daydreaming about her sort-of-cousin Dylan.

But when GG dies under suspicious circumstances, Ruth's dull weekend turns into an enforced-family-holiday-slash-possible-murder-investigation – and she's not about to let the police get in the way of her chance to solve a real-life murder mystery. With Dylan as the Watson to her Holmes, Ruth soon discovers that plenty of people had reasons to be rid of GG, and her list of suspects grows to comprise everyone in the house, including, in the interests of fairness, herself.

The thing about family holidays is that you've got to be prepared for fights.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Humor, Audiobook, Crime, Romance, Mystery Thriller

334 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

teens are crazy like “hey why not just confront a killer” lol classic

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best way for me to describe this book is the Aussie version of 'A Good Girls Guide To Murder' (need I say more!!)

I loveeed the writing style and how Ruth, our wonderful part time amateur detective was talking to the reader & breaking the fourth wall. The Aussie-isms and references to things like 'Farmer Wants a Wife' & 'The Real Housewives of Dunsborough' had me genuinely laughing.

The mystery itself and the chaotic family dynamic was great!
If you are looking for a cosy YA murder mystery and to support an Aussie author, look no further than this book!!

[jo ୨୧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

──★ 4

this was a quirky, funky, little family story set in australia with a "nancy drew" esque main character and her cousin. a fun novel with a lot going on that technically was quite confusing and funky but i had a good time! nothing crazy at all. pick up for a light read.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖𓂃.☘︎ ݁˖

──★thanks to the publisher + netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update: state final readers cup question writing. Still laughing.

Had to stop while I read book club books, but then whipped through it laughing all the way.

Very strong Eleanor Jones vibes. Love how Australian authors are able to capture the snarky teenage girl detective voice with warmth and humour.

[Angelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

[hannah! (lowkey gone) · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was hilarious but a bit confusing. but absolutely hilarious

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd describe this as Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, but for kids. A surprising amount of "what are you doing, step-bro" (well, cousin technically) for a YA novel though 🫣.

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC

[Anneliese · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot twists in this book. Jeez.

I still couldn’t quite believe who had done it. Well who hadn’t done it I should say.

[Belle Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have given it more stars if I didn’t pick the murderer so easily (but nothing to do with the writing and more to do with my neurodivergent brains pattern recognition).
Nice pallet cleanser from romance / fantasy.
Good to read another Australian book, could tell it was recent from all the pop culture references. Loved all the murder mystery pop culture references too.

[Julia Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.
It often irks me how mature teens are written in YA, but in this case I wish Ruth was written less childish. She seems 11 instead of 14.
That being said, I think this would be an excellent mystery for an intermediate elementary student who wants to dip their toes into YA mysteries.

[Karin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great YA cozy mystery! It totally reminded me of “Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone” but for teenagers. It was funny, light and written well. Super fun!

[Clare Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Can you call it a holiday if someone gets murdered?'
'I think it still counts.'

[Avril Polson · Rating 2 out of 5]

All opinions are entirely my own. I am in no way affiliated with the author or publisher. Remember to support your local indie bookstore and library!

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨ ᰔ ୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

"This is, you don't have to tell me, not a great line. It's not a denial. It's not an excuse. It's straight up self-incrimination."

- [ ] Star Rating: 2 Stars
- [ ] Discovery: Gifted
- [ ] Reading Format: Physical
- [ ] Read Time: 3 Hours

Family holiday ends with granny's head being bludgeoned by a typewriter.

The narrator is a quirky 14 year old who isn't just annoying, she also wants to fuck her cousin.

[juliette [beth mccarthy’s version][skl s-ia| · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters ⭐️⭐️
Ending ⭐️⭐️

[its_just_christin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good. It’s set in Australia which for me added to the fun. Ruth is visiting her step grandmother GG’s farm with her Dad and his sisters when her grandmother GG dies in a very suspicious way. As she starts investigating with her kind of sort of cousin Dylan they discover that everyone in the family is hiding something. Ruth is determined to figure out what happened and who killed GG. I love Ruth, she is such a great character. She’s smart, persistent, and her curiosity while it gets her in trouble here and there is inspiring.

All of the side characters added so much depth to the story and made it hard to figure out who the killer was before the end. Ruth repeatedly breaks the fourth wall by talking to the reader and I’m here for it. She drops hints along the way. The family is definitely dysfunctional but I loved it. This book was funny and really grabbed my attention from the beginning.

I listened to an ALC of this book narrated by Siho Ellsmore. I really enjoyed the narration of this book. Siho does a great job of voicing all the characters in unique ways. I loved that they used an Australian narrator because it fit perfectly with the writing. Thank you Macmillan Audio and Kate Emery for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny, light-hearted murder mystery set in a remote farmhouse property near Margaret River, WA. Ruth's extended family (Dad, aunts and 'uncles', and half-cousin Dylan) have been visiting GG (Ruth's step grandmother) for a weekend, and just when they plan to head back to Perth, GG winds up dead under mysterious circumstances. All the adults have sketchy alibis, and random people keep turning up to the farmhouse unannounced. What's a fan of Agatha Christie (Ruth) to do, but put her detective skills to good use, (assisted by the very cute Dylan), to find out who killed GG?

A quick and enjoyable read. I discovered after I had finished this book that I had have also read Kate Emery's other novel, The not so chosen one (Fantasy), which I also really enjoyed. An author to watch/follow!

[Hallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK so I kinda don't know what to say. It was a good book like I did definetly enjoy it and everything. I just felt something missing. It took a while for the book to hit a point were it was really exciting. I was kinda a little bit bored throughout the rest. I did like her humour and how it was in first person. AND SERIOUSLY I needed a moment with her and Dylan like come on. ANyways BYeEE.

[Abby Rogish Bodin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy for an honest review!
Rating: 3/5
It’s written for a teenager to enjoy more, so her voice irritated me. Again, I think a younger audience would enjoy it! I was disappointed with The Who done it, but I was surprised at a couple different things! She set it up a little open ended, which I’m assuming for a sequel.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

if i had a nickel for every time i read a YA murder mystery with two characters who are cousins have a crush on each other, only to find out that they aren't actually related, i'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.

in all seriousness i really liked this! i love silly little aussie murder mysteries, especially when they're aware it's a book and play with storytelling more (e.g. blah blah blah "But we'll get to that later")

[ੈ✩‧₊˚ faithreads *ೃ༄ (inactive) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book is more targeted to a younger audience lol…it was pretty cheesy and boring.

[Byron Bibliotherapy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for younger siblings of readers of Biffy James' Completely Normal (and Other Lies). Very funny heroine (my favourite understated-but satisfying-humour).

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

TLDR: Plot twists were immediately obvious, main character clearly written by someone way too old to be writing a 14 year old, weird incesty crush, and it could've been half the pages.

I really tried to like this book but I just couldn't. I thought at first maybe it's because it seems less Y/A and more preteens (11-14), but then there's a lot of words, references, and sections that kids that age wouldn't understand or would find boring.

Overall, it was completely predicable. I kept waiting for one of the "twists" to surprise me but I had already figured out every single one of them well before the reveals which is not want you want from a book that revolves entirely around mysteries.

The main character was also all over the place and the writer couldn't seem to remember if she was writing a 14 year old or a 34 year old. She's immature and childish in some scenes and then makes some bizarrely adult comments in others. For example, she doesn't know who Scooby Doo is but apparently is a big Patricia Cornwell fan - which I doubt a single 14 year old in 2024 (when this book was released) even knows who that is let alone is allowed to read her books with such graphic crime scene and autopsy descriptions. She also makes an offhand reference/joke involving pap smears which is so far off something a 14 year old would mention. It's very evident that this book was written by someone who's at least in their mid 30's possibly late 40's.

The out of place crush scenes the main character has with her cousin to throughout the book are just plainly disturbing, with her even mentioning at one point that it's legal in western australia to marry your cousin (blech). Spoiler alert: they aren't actually related which you can assume almost immediately but neither of them know that for most of the book when they're crushing on each other and having awkward romantic tensions.

The pacing of the book also just felt really off, probably due to the excessive internal monologues that do little to further the story. I found myself only a third of the way through the book checking what page I was up to, something I never do, and being shocked by how much was left as it felt like I should've been well over halfway through. It's way too much of a slow burn and not in the fun way but in the 'I'm starting to skim over all of the unnecessary fluff that's padding the page count because the story is being dragged out'.

[Maddison Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always like to read YA as you can come across some really great books. This was just too predictable and didn’t really leave you with anything.

[Amélie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book it was really good but It was a bit cringe like I felt I like it was written by someone who was out of touch with the character and what teenagers there age act mainly the use of Snapchatted instead of snap and the continuous jokes got a slight over done near the end ,talking about the end I felt that the Bec was the window was breaker was unnecessary

[Jill (jills.bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder" is a fast-paced and fun YA mystery. I was in the mood for a cozy whodunit, and this book certainly did the trick. Although I am probably not the intended audience for this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was just good, clean fun! Ruth and her family were charming, funny, and, yes, quite dysfunctional. There were a lot of characters in this story, so it was a little hard at first to keep track of who everyone was, but I loved their quirky family dynamics. I highly recommend this book for young adult readers or anyone looking for cozy, lighthearted mystery.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Siho Ellsmore. I love listening to Australian narrators because I feel transported right into the story. Ellsmore did a great job bringing the story and characters to life. She added so much warmth and humor to the story with her narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review, and to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Kate Emery, why had I not met your work before now?!

After seeing this book listed on Children’s Book Council Australia (CBCA) 2025 Older Readers Notables list, I snapped it up when I stumbled across it at a local bookshop.

And, what a delight.

I adore books that lead to other books (multiple references to Agatha Christie, Ngairo Marsh and Nancy Springer) and films.

Family dramas, set on a run-down coastal farm in Western Australia during the summer holidays, delivered with humour and warmth.

Protagonist Ruth adores whodunnits, rereading the old copies on the shelves each holiday, until on unfolds around her.

Delightfully witty, well-paced and with a sprinkle of romance.

Highly recommend for readers over ten years old

[haddy]

life is too short to read books you don't like.

this is my new motto. i love reading books i don't like so i can make funny haha reviews, but sometimes i just genuinely cannot take it.

such was the case for this book.

i came in expecting YA, but the writing felt like middle grade with how quirky the narrator attempted (and failed) to be. there's also incesty themes because the MC is crushing on her cousin (or maybe they're not actually related, i don't care), but she says a line that goes like "you can marry your cousin where we live!!" so. i guess the family is dysfunctional because they are incestuous. that's all. life is too short to be stuck in weird quirky incest hell.

[Navile Ponton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I am not the intended target for these books, but I do enjoy middle grade and YA books year round. Unfortunately, this one was a bit of a miss for me. I am starting to see a trend where in interactive mystery books, the narrator addresses the reader specifically, and while I have enjoyed this in the past, it felt a bit off in this book. Maybe it's because the character is so young? It could have been the narrator? I listened when I could not read so I could multitask at work... I truly don't know why I could not get into this one, feel intrigued with the mystery and want to know what happens next.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up as it came highly recommended by Birds of a Feather’ Wild Readers’ book club.

Okay I admit, I actually bought it for my son for Christmas and then stole it from him and read it first. It’s okay, he is in book 5 of 5 from a warriors cat book series he got from his grandmother so he is happy.

This was great. Humorous, suspenseful and set in Western Australia. Kate is a journalist and I actually recognise her name. I’ll look for her other books now.