Keep It in the Family

This heart-pounding psychological thriller from British author Marrs (The Minders) takes a deep dive into the mind of a serial killer. Young marrieds Mia and Finn Hunter, who have been living with Finn’s parents, Dave and Debbie, jump at the opportunity to buy an old house in Stewkbury, Bedfordshire, and renovate it into their dream home. When a pregnant Mia discovers a cryptic message, “I will save them from the attic,” scratched into the skirting board of the room that will be the nursery, she sends Finn up to the attic to investigate. There he discovers evidence of terrible crimes. Mia, who’s watching Finn from atop a ladder, takes a serious fall that leads to the premature birth of her baby, Sonny. As a result of her injuries and the shock of what she saw in the attic, Mia withdraws emotionally, and Debbie becomes Sonny’s principal caregiver. The tension rises as an anonymous narrator, who remains unidentified through much of the book, describes a tortured childhood and an eventual career as a serial killer. One dramatic revelation after another will keep readers turning the pages. Marrs has outdone himself. (Oct.)