The Family Game | Catherine Steadman | Review

Ever since I first read Something in the Water, I have been a big fan of Catherine Steadman. Her books read like a brilliant, dark film in the best way, in no small part due to the author’s background as an actor and most recently a screenwriter for the adaptation of The Ex-Wife for film (a book I totally loved!).

In The Family Game, a successful writer meets her fiancé’s family for the first time and finds herself embroiled in a complicated and dark game with her soon to be father-in-law. Twisted and engrossing—I didn’t want to stop reading this incredible psychological thriller until the very last page (and even then I didn’t want it to be over, if I’m honest)!

About the Book | The Family Game

Setting

Set between Thanksgiving and Christmas in New York City and in the family estate, The Hydes, in upstate New York, this book takes a dark twist on the dreaded family obligations around the holidays.

Plot

Everything is coming together for novelist Harriet (who goes by Harry). Her writing career is taking off and she is on deadline for her next thriller. She is recently engaged to handsome, wealthy Edward Holbeck in a fairytale romance. She’s moved to New York City to live with him and left behind her lonely past in London, where she was orphaned at a young age. Harry is grateful to start a new family with Edward.

Not long after their engagement, Edward’s family reaches out hoping to connect with Harry and if she is willing to help, bring Edward back into the family. The Holbecks are old money, and though Edward could have been set for life in the family business, he has taken his own path to success separate from them. His engagement to Harry may be the perfect opportunity for him to come back to his family.

When Edward’s sister tricks Harry into agreeing to spend Thanksgiving with the family at their New York home, Harry finds herself drawn into the dark and glittering world of the Holbecks. Edward’s father Robert pulls Harry aside for a chat and she can’t help but feel there is more beneath the surface of their conversation than she realized. When Robert slips her an old cassette tape containing a shocking confession, Harry becomes entrapped in a game that she isn’t sure she wants to win.

Why was Robert willing to trust Harry with the secrets he revealed on the tape? As Harry pieces together the clues, she realizes things with the Holbecks are darker than she ever knew. Harry must win the game or risk losing it all, maybe even her life…

Characters

While not an exhaustive list, The Family Game centers around Harriet, an orphan, and the Holbeck family. I made a few high-level notes on who was who in the Holbeck clan because I struggled to keep them straight at first.

Harriet “Harry” Reed is a best-selling novelist and the narrator of the book. Harry is British and moved to New York City to be with her American fiancé, Edward Holbeck. Edward is the eldest living son in the Holbeck family and runs a tech start-up.

Edwards parents are Eleanor Holbeck, a former model, and Robert Holbeck, owner of the family business. Bobby Holbeck was Edward’s older brother who took his own life in the early 2000s. Matilda Holbeck is Edward’s younger sister and the second born. Oliver Holbeck is Edward’s younger brother and the third born. Fiona is Oliver’s wife and is a stay-at-home mom; their children are Billy, Sam, and Tristan. Stuart Holbeck is the youngest brother of Edward and his girlfriend Lila is a Scandanvian model and actress; Milo is her son.

In attendance at some of the family events are a few close friends and employees. Nancy is the family’s general legal counsel. Marty is an old family friend. Nunu is the nanny for the children.

My Thoughts | The Family Game

I actually read The Family Game during the pandemic years where I was reading for enjoyment but didn’t have the bandwidth mentally to post reviews. That meant that when I went to look at books I wanted to review recently from my shelves, I couldn’t pass posting about this one. I went back and read it a second time so I can confirm this is a book that I enjoyed just as much on a re-read, even knowing the twists.

I read a lot of psychological thrillers so I notice when they deliver above and beyond. The Family Game is so expertly written and dark. I did the audiobook the second time around and Catherine Steadman narrating is truly a treat. Her acting skills plus being the creator of the story make the narration shine. Also, with the sections of the book from the tape being narrated, I loved the way they altered the audio recording to sound like a cassette tape. It pulled me even deeper into the story!

Harry as a main character is one of the best parts of the book. Initially she may seem too good and kind for this family, but she has some scrappiness to her that comes out as she gets deeper into the games. At a certain point I began to realize that no one was better suited to her position within the Holbeck circle.

The Holbecks are twisted! There is a voyeurism, I think, to reading about these extremely wealthy families and their secrets. More money, more problems (and more secrets), as they say. The Holbecks follow primogeniture, which is essentially about birth order regardless of gender. This added an edge to the family members, as their order in the lineage had a certain meaning to it and that translated to their freedom in their life, career, relationships, and future.

The games! From the moment Harry’s publisher calls her to back out of their meeting and she realizes it was because Edward’s sister pressured them to so she could meet her, I knew there was going to be a lot going on here. Nothing that any of the Holbecks and their extended family do should be taken at face value. These people play games merely by breathing!

The cassette tape was a particularly fascinating element to the story. Robert pulls Harry aside for a cryptic chat and slips her the tape. She must track down the right device to even be able to listen to the tape—something that was certainly a challenge that Robert intended. Once she has the tape, we hear the shocking contents of the message Robert recorded for her. And to add a layer to it all, Harry is faced with what she pursues, how she pursues it, and whether she should share anything with Edward.

The settings were outstanding, particularly the Hydes, which is old, opulent, and had a fascinating backstory. The grounds and house are full of hideaways, mazes, and secret spaces. I could vividly picture it all! It was similar to watching a film in my mind (which makes me realize this book absolutely should be made into a film).

Suspenseful, gripping, and dark—I truly didn’t want this book to end!

What should you read next?

I absolutely loved The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman, set in Hollywood and featuring a mysterious disappearance that mirrors an old case of a Hollywood actress from many years ago. I also recommend checking out her debut book Something in the Water, which is truly the book that started it all. I don’t even know how to describe this wild ride of a story, but it starts with a Documentary filmmaker and her husband on their honeymoon in Bora Bora. When out on a boat cruise, they come across something in the water and it changes everything.

If the glimpse into wealth and secrets of old money families interests you, check out What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman. A couple buy their dream home in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in DC, but soon learn that the wealthy neighbors around them have more secrets than they realized when one of the winds up murdered.

About the Author | Catherine Steadman

Catherine is a New York Times bestselling author, screenwriter & actress based in London. Her first novel, psychological thriller, SOMETHING IN THE WATER, was a New York Times bestseller, a REESE’S BOOKCLUB PICK and a RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB pick with rights sold in more than thirty territories. She is also the author of MR. NOBODY, THE DISAPPEARING ACT and THE FAMILY GAME, all published by Simon & Schuster in the UK and Random House in the USA.

Her screenwriting debut, all four episodes of the screen adaptation of psychological thriller THE EX-WIFE, is now available to stream on Paramount +, starring Celine Buckens (SHOWTRIAL) and Tom Mison (SLEEPY HOLLOW).

She is currently working on her fifth novel, out Summer 2024 and developing The Ex-Wife series 2 with Black Box, Clapperboard and Paramount +. She has also been commissioned to adapt her first feature film.

As an actress, she appeared in leading roles on British and American television as well as on stage in the West End, where she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award.