A brilliantly written, often hilarious murder mystery for young adults.
Feature image credit: Allen & Unwin
Australian author Kate Emery is a senior reporter for The West Australian. My Family and Other Suspects is her second novel for young adults.
Set in the small coastal town of Dunsborough, Western Australia, it is about a family who are visiting their “GG” on the family farm. GG is the wife of their late father/grandfather and is nearing the end of her life. All the family gather together for what is supposed to be a couple of days. Our storyteller is 14-year-old Ruth, the step-granddaughter of GG. Also on holiday with the family is Dylan, her secret crush, but now half-cousin. Ruth loves to read, especially detective novels by authors such as Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. She fancies herself as a bit of a detective also. The family relationships are quite complicated, with long-lost children and second marriages.
Unfortunately, the holiday takes a downturn when someone dies under suspicious circumstances and the family all begin to point the finger at each other. Secrets are revealed, tempers flare and Ruth decides it is up to her to get to the bottom of the mystery. Unfortunately, one mystery pretty soon becomes several and with few clues along the way and being privy to Ruth’s thoughts, we as readers are encouraged to help solve the mysteries. To complicate matters, mobile phones do not work on the farm, unless you hike out to the back paddock. As she investigates further, Ruth realises most of the family have secrets and she needs to call on Dylan to help her solve the mysteries.
Because Ruth includes the reader in her musings, we are invited along for the ride, trying to gather our own evidence. The story moves along at a good pace, and there are many delightful little paragraphs where brackets or lists have been used to great effect. Ruth’s faith that she will solve the mystery before the police is endearing. There is also a bit of first love involved as well as many laugh-out-loud moments. As readers we feel drawn to the story because of Australian references, like Farmer Wants a Wife.
My Family and Other Suspects is a fabulous story for both teenagers and adults. It is fun, well written and never gets bogged down. It is well worth a read!
Reviewed by Sue Mauger
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Allen & Unwin
Released: October 2024
RRP: $19.99
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