Twisted Family Values is Certainly Twisted...

I was given access to Twisted Family Values by my one true love, NetGalley.  This novel by V.C. Chickering was released 06/25/19 by St. Martin's Press.

The book is a little difficult to explain, so I'll let Goodreads take it away...

In WASPy Larkspur, New Jersey, social expectations and decorum rule, and Marjorie and Dunsfield Thornden are the envy of their neighbors. Their daughters Claire and Cat set the small town’s social calendar by throwing tastefully lavish family parties year round. Because it’s 1977, underage debauchery is to be expected—and Cat and Claire’s children, Bizzy and Choo, are at its very center. 

Underneath their well-maintained veneer, the Thorndens are quite dysfunctional, but have always had their entitlement to fall back on. And while some are finally ready to accept what they’re willing to give up for the life that they think they deserve, secrets that should’ve never been kept—especially not from each other—are bubbling unattractively to the surface.

So when a scandal threatens to unravel this tight-lipped family and their secrets, the Thorndens will have to decide how much they’ll let decorum rule social mores dictate their decisions and how far they’ll go to keep some secrets just that. Any choice they make could mean freedom from expectations but will change the course of their family's legacy forever.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book.  It sounded like a spin on a Desperate Housewives plot, or even Big Little Lies.  This being the year of taking chances, I certainly tried to embrace this book that is so far off my normal beaten path in thrillerland.

That being said, I didn't hate it.  The first half of the book was pretty hard for me to get through, if I'm being honest.  There are a lot of incestuous situations between Bizzy and Choo that quite frankly made me sick to my stomach, even knowing what was going on in the rest of the family.  I almost put the book down at the mention of an attempted rape.  I don't read about that.  It's yucky and just not for me.  It makes me feel gross, and that entire situation certainly did.  I took a break for several days debating if I was going to finish the book.

I'm glad I did.  The second half is soooo much better, though I'm not sure the end justifies the means.  I understand this is more meant as a satirical look at a rich family who tries so hard to be perfect, but is crumbling due to all the secrets.  I really enjoyed some of the character relationships.  Overall the ending was satisfactory, if not predictable.  I'm certainly glad I finished the book, maintaining my record of DNF books at 1.  Chickering did an amazing job with the detail in this book, which is probably what made the beginning so difficult for me.  It felt like I was there for the good, the bad, and allllll of the ugly.

In the end, the Thorndens get exactly what they deserve, and I loved seeing the decisions play out with each relationship.  This would have easily been a 4-star read for me, but loses 1 because the detail on the sexual situations between Bizzy and Choo were just too much, and to me not exactly necessary to the story.

🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars