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My Killer Family Reunion
Not yet published
Expected 11 Aug 26Knives Out meets Never Have I Ever in this hilarious and twisty young adult mystery-comedy about an Indian American teen whose family reunion at a lavish manor falls into chaos after her grandma is attacked.
Nothings brings family together like attempted murder.
There are three things Jayshree Devi can count on happening at her annual family 1) her cousins will forget she exists, 2) her aunts will try to set her up, and 3) her uncles will get into a fight. What she doesn’t expect? An accident that lands her grandmother in a coma, throwing the family—and their matriarch’s sizeable fortune—into chaos.
When Jay discovers Grand Mom’s “accident” might not have been so accidental after all, she’ll have to dig through decades of secrets to find the truth. With the help of her (annoyingly perky) cousins and one of their (annoyingly hot) friends, Jay finds herself knee-deep in a mystery that’s even more tangled than her family tree.
But the closer Jay gets to answers, the closer she gets to finding her place amongst the relatives who once felt so distant. With Grand Mom’s life and fortune hanging in the balance, can Jay save her family and maybe hook up with a hottie while she’s at it?
Nothings brings family together like attempted murder.
There are three things Jayshree Devi can count on happening at her annual family 1) her cousins will forget she exists, 2) her aunts will try to set her up, and 3) her uncles will get into a fight. What she doesn’t expect? An accident that lands her grandmother in a coma, throwing the family—and their matriarch’s sizeable fortune—into chaos.
When Jay discovers Grand Mom’s “accident” might not have been so accidental after all, she’ll have to dig through decades of secrets to find the truth. With the help of her (annoyingly perky) cousins and one of their (annoyingly hot) friends, Jay finds herself knee-deep in a mystery that’s even more tangled than her family tree.
But the closer Jay gets to answers, the closer she gets to finding her place amongst the relatives who once felt so distant. With Grand Mom’s life and fortune hanging in the balance, can Jay save her family and maybe hook up with a hottie while she’s at it?
384 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication August 11, 2026
2 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Dinesh Thiru
2 books78 followersDinesh Thiru is a writer and stay-at-home dad currently living in Barcelona. He grew up in North Carolina, married his college sweetheart from the University of Pennsylvania, and spent over a decade in San Francisco. Dinesh is half-Indian, half-white. He loves the ocean. He used to have other interests, but he swapped them for kids. Those kids are seven, four, and a dog. Find him at DineshThiru.com or TikTok.com/@dineshmt9.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 27, 2025
Hi there! I’m Dinesh Thiru, the author, and I’d like to officially welcome you to my unhinged, KNIVES OUT meets NEVER HAVE I EVER, Indian family reunion murder mystery, in which everyone has a plan to kill Grand Mom.
This book is a mystery-comedy-contemp mashup with a ridiculous, lovable family that is not at all inspired directly by my actual family (note: all characters are fictional; any resemblances to real people are ENTIRELY coincidental).
Background: Almost every summer when I was young, we’d drive fourteen hours to Illinois for the annual family reunion. We were six adults, six kids, my great-aunt, and occasionally the matriarch would join—my unkillable grandmother, who lived in India until 103. Needless to say, those reunions formed some of my favorite memories. Which inspired this book!
Things you’ll find inside:
1) An actual family tree, complete with murder plans, that include: dismemberment, strangulation, radiation, and shark
2) One bada** Grand Mom, who is not to be trifled with
3) A deranged, morbid sense of humor that does not remotely resemble my own
4) A frozen, December wasteland setting in beautiful north Jersey (I lived there)
5) A half-Indian, half-white protagonist (like myself) who is fearless and ignored
6) A cousin’s hot friend, who needs to be hooked-up with, like asap
7) TACO BELL (enough said)
8) SPA ROOM (enough said)
9) A family who’s going through real stuff, so content warnings for domestic violence and homophobia (see my website)
10) Dosa, rasam, sambar, and enough Indian food to make you immediately order dinner
11) Cousins that feel like brothers and sisters :-)
As you can probably tell, this one is truly a love letter to my family. Thanks for taking a chance on it. I hope you have as much fun reading as I had writing.
This book is a mystery-comedy-contemp mashup with a ridiculous, lovable family that is not at all inspired directly by my actual family (note: all characters are fictional; any resemblances to real people are ENTIRELY coincidental).
Background: Almost every summer when I was young, we’d drive fourteen hours to Illinois for the annual family reunion. We were six adults, six kids, my great-aunt, and occasionally the matriarch would join—my unkillable grandmother, who lived in India until 103. Needless to say, those reunions formed some of my favorite memories. Which inspired this book!
Things you’ll find inside:
1) An actual family tree, complete with murder plans, that include: dismemberment, strangulation, radiation, and shark
2) One bada** Grand Mom, who is not to be trifled with
3) A deranged, morbid sense of humor that does not remotely resemble my own
4) A frozen, December wasteland setting in beautiful north Jersey (I lived there)
5) A half-Indian, half-white protagonist (like myself) who is fearless and ignored
6) A cousin’s hot friend, who needs to be hooked-up with, like asap
7) TACO BELL (enough said)
8) SPA ROOM (enough said)
9) A family who’s going through real stuff, so content warnings for domestic violence and homophobia (see my website)
10) Dosa, rasam, sambar, and enough Indian food to make you immediately order dinner
11) Cousins that feel like brothers and sisters :-)
As you can probably tell, this one is truly a love letter to my family. Thanks for taking a chance on it. I hope you have as much fun reading as I had writing.
Want to Read
January 17, 2026"Knives Out meets Never Have I Ever in this hilarious and twisty young adult mystery-comedy about an Indian American teen whose family reunion at a lavish manor falls into chaos after her grandma is attacked."
March 5, 2026
4.5 stars! I ate this UP! I was in a terrible book slump and this brought me right out of it.
Jayshree is your average teen, but she is part of a very large family with a wild sense of humor. During the holiday season, while gathering with her family, Jayshree no longer wants to remain in the background, often forgotten about by her aunts, uncles and cousins. But the one thing they all have in common, is that they all have come up with different ways to kill their Grandmom. Wild, right?
Now let’s get to the review, the first page had me hooked. Edges snatched. I was sat. This was such a fun and unique book that shed light on different Indian- American family cultures and values. I feel like I learned so much and it was great to see how their family handled situations as they came. Not only that, some of the characters were HILARIOUS. Prithi? That is my girl, she had me cackling at times. There was so much witty banter woven between the mystery/suspense which I loved. Indi and Dara? DYNAMIC DUO, ok? And my sweet Hernando, what a gem.
Some of the book’s themes I was not expecting and although Jayshree’s family was large, they did have a way of truly coming together when they really needed to for each other.
Also, the queer representation *chef’s kiss* This book truly had it all and was hard to put down. I mean, I remembered the characters names TWO days after I finished the book. For me, that says a lot.
So if you like a fun, whodunnit book with all of the above stated, then this is exactly for you.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC✨
Jayshree is your average teen, but she is part of a very large family with a wild sense of humor. During the holiday season, while gathering with her family, Jayshree no longer wants to remain in the background, often forgotten about by her aunts, uncles and cousins. But the one thing they all have in common, is that they all have come up with different ways to kill their Grandmom. Wild, right?
Now let’s get to the review, the first page had me hooked. Edges snatched. I was sat. This was such a fun and unique book that shed light on different Indian- American family cultures and values. I feel like I learned so much and it was great to see how their family handled situations as they came. Not only that, some of the characters were HILARIOUS. Prithi? That is my girl, she had me cackling at times. There was so much witty banter woven between the mystery/suspense which I loved. Indi and Dara? DYNAMIC DUO, ok? And my sweet Hernando, what a gem.
Some of the book’s themes I was not expecting and although Jayshree’s family was large, they did have a way of truly coming together when they really needed to for each other.
Also, the queer representation *chef’s kiss* This book truly had it all and was hard to put down. I mean, I remembered the characters names TWO days after I finished the book. For me, that says a lot.
So if you like a fun, whodunnit book with all of the above stated, then this is exactly for you.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC✨
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2026
3.5⭐️
I’m not sure if I liked this as much as I thought I would, but at the same time by the end I was waiting to see the big reveal. So in conclusion… I have mixed feelings. It took me a little while to like some of the characters including the main character. Also, wanting to join the Navy felt so random compared to everything else happening in the book. The whole plot of people becoming the worst when they think they are entitled to their relatives land or money once they’re dead is depressingly accurate.
The family vibes of this book felt really nice though. Yeah, a few of them were not the greatest but it seems like it would have been such a fun time for any get togethers. I was really happy with the ending of this book, it was really cute the main character got her closet make-out moment.
(Note: I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity.)
POV: First Person
Spice Level: (kissing)
Sad Level: 💧💧
Would I Recommend? Yes
Favorite Character(s): Jay
Emojis Based on Vibes: 🛻💵👀
⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Murder
I’m not sure if I liked this as much as I thought I would, but at the same time by the end I was waiting to see the big reveal. So in conclusion… I have mixed feelings. It took me a little while to like some of the characters including the main character. Also, wanting to join the Navy felt so random compared to everything else happening in the book. The whole plot of people becoming the worst when they think they are entitled to their relatives land or money once they’re dead is depressingly accurate.
The family vibes of this book felt really nice though. Yeah, a few of them were not the greatest but it seems like it would have been such a fun time for any get togethers. I was really happy with the ending of this book, it was really cute the main character got her closet make-out moment.
(Note: I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity.)
POV: First Person
Spice Level: (kissing)
Sad Level: 💧💧
Would I Recommend? Yes
Favorite Character(s): Jay
Emojis Based on Vibes: 🛻💵👀
⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Murder
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews