Published by Gallery Books, Scout Press Genres: Drama, Family, Mystery
Format: ARC, eBook
A Funeral, three Brothers – two alive, one dead. What a mess.
This book is told through the POV of the three brothers: William, Brian and Luke. William is a successful film producer; Luke is a worldwide pop star and Brian is a teacher who also manages Luke’s career and finances. They could be typical normal guys, but they are not! They are all a mess in varying degrees. Each doing “little cruelties” to each other. Betrayal after betrayal. They give new meaning to the term “dysfunctional family”
The only real mystery in the book is the identity of the dead brother. You will not know his identity until the end. The book takes you from the funeral and moves back in time to their childhood and throughout their lives, with each sharing their POV. We learn secrets, watch them lie, watch them manipulate, watch them love, watch them fall apart, watch them get back on their feet, only to fall apart again.
This book touches on several things: family, addiction, mental illness, greed, infidelity, the pros and cons of fame, money, sibling rivalry, and even the #METoo movement.
Will you like these characters? Probably not, although there was one, I felt sorry more than his brothers. But their relationships were fascinating. Plus, their mother was a whole other can of beans as was each’s relationship with her.
The storytelling was a little bit of a mess in that it was all over the place, but that felt right as these brothers were all over the place as well. I thought Nugent did a good job keeping the reader in the dark with the “mystery” narrator who tells the story in the beginning. We do not know who is telling the story, so you have to hang in with them on the chaotic ride/journey of their lives until the end of the book.
This is not your typical mystery/suspense/thriller book. It is not fast paced. It is more character driven. As I stated earlier, the real mystery is who is dead, why, how and who is to blame? Otherwise it is a decent into the character’s lives, those in their lives, and what motivates them.
Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own