My Review of A Killer in the Family includes spoilers! Set in two major cities across the globe, this tense family drama thriller has ALL the Succession vibes and I loved it! Check out my Quick Take and thoughts about this new April release.
Review of A Killer in the Family
When I saw that this book was set in New York City, I requested it in a New York minute! If you love stories about complicated, even dangerous, family dynamics that are books like Succession, grab this for your TBR!
Jen’s Quick Take on A Killer in the Family
- A Killer in the Family is a character driven story of a Ali Azeem, a young man who marries into the rich and influential New York City real estate family headed by Abbas Khan, a Southeast Asian immigrant with dark and mysterious secrets.
- The story moves from Mumbai and then to Manhattan and Queens
- There’s also a serial killer subplot (sorry to sound excited)
- I love Books Like Succession and this one really delivers, with complex family relationships, hidden grudges and loyalties, power jockeying, and cover-ups.
- It might not be for you if you like fast paced books with less worldbuilding and character development OR if you are not a fan of complex, unlikeable characters.
- It could be for you if you love books with a strong sense of place, complex characters who surprise you, and don’t mind some build-up to a stunning conclusion.
- Publication date: April 7, 2026 by Henry Holt. Thanks so much to them for the advance reader copy.
My Longer Thoughts on Killer in the Family (no spoilers in this section!)
The minute I read the synopsis of A Killer in the Family, I knew I wanted to read it: the New York City setting, the Succession vibes, and the family drama.
I was not disappointed. I loved seeing Ali’s arranged marriage play out in Mumbai, and then watching him head to New York City with his new wife Maryam, a medical resident.
But Ali is soon walking the minefield that is the Khan family. Both Maryam and her divorced older sister Farhan are keeping secrets from their controlling father.
A few readers found this slow paced, but I loved feeling fully immersed in this world. The author described the book as Succession + The Great Gatsby, and I can see both.
Spoilers for A Killer in the Family
If you have questions about the book, please leave them in comments. Spoilers are fine!
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First off, Ali sleeps with Farhan, his sister-in-law on and off over an extended period of time. Not the best decision, but as he is an arranged marriage, I can maybe cut him a little slack.
Farham is a WHOLE lot to unpack: divorced after her own arranged marriage, she has recurring nightmares of a woman bleeding on a bed. Did she witness the Jackson Heights Killer (JHK), a twisted killer who murdered multiple woman and stole their hearts? Was Farham, with her scar, a surviving victim of his?
We also learn that Maryam had a secret relationship with a Jewish doctor that she kept secret and was forced to end. (Her family is Muslim.)
Both Farham and Ali are getting creepy postcards. Farhan thinks he’s sending them to her, but no.
Ali follows Maryam as she meets with a private detective. He thinks that Maryam hired the PI to spy on him and knows he slept with her sister. But NO. The guy she’s meeting with, Orlando Epps, is a retired cop who was on the JHK case.
We also learn that as a teenager, Farhan became pregnant. After she terminated the pregnancy, she developed a heart arrhythmia and scarred her own chest. After that, her father sent her to a mental hospital.
Furthermore, after all of it, Farhan continued to be dangerously self-destructive. She has a one night stand with the JHK, who recoiled at her scar and let her go. Farhan intended to go to the police, but Maryam told their father, who shut it down.
When JHK wants to meet with Farhan and Epps is missing, Ali hides and takes pictures of the man who shows up for the meeting: FHK is George, Ali’s doorman.
Farhan and Ali murder George and bury his body in the family compound in the Hamptons.
Abbas Khan dies. Farhan conspires with her family to get Kyle, son of Eva, the family bookkeeper, installed as CEO of the family business.
Ali gets fired. In his free time, Ali keeps trying to find Epps. He learns that Epps, who said he had something “explosive” on the family before he died, left an envelope behind.
Ali confronts Farhan with the explosive news: Kyle is the son of Abbas and the bookkeeper, his secret lover for years. The nightmare that haunts Farhan is glimpsing Eva giving birth to Kyle.
Farhan loses it. She’s been sleeping with Kyle, and now realizes … he’s her half-brother.
Maryam is pregnant. She knew about Ali sleeping with Farhan and wanted to marry him because she could manipulate him. She has given up so much: her true love (the Jewish surgeon), a career in surgery (her father wouldn’t allow it.) All Maryam wanted was to the given a chance by her father to head the company. So she will have to be content with being the wife of the CEO.