My Killer Family Reunion / Dinesh Thiru / Book Review
MY KILLER FAMILY REUNION
Jayshree has always felt invisible in her own family, and she's (mostly) okay with that. She doesn't get invited to hang out with the cousins in the basement during the family reunion, but she also doesn't get annoying aunts and uncles asking her questions she doesn't want to answer. The only one who pays attention to her, really pays attention to her, is Grand Mom. Everybody loves Grand Mom. They have to. As the wealthy matriarch of the family, keeping in Grand Mom's good graces is vital. There's an inheritance on the line. Grand Mom may be unkillable (or so she always jokes), but she isn't exactly getting any younger.
But this year's family reunion comes with a special announcement: Grand Mom's changed the will. It's not an even division between her children of her expensive properties in India. She's naming three specific heirs, and she needs Jayshree's help to vet the candidates.
Jayshree isn't sure she wants to be in the middle of an inheritance fight, but she doesn't have the time to process those feelings. Not when Grand Mom narrowly avoids getting run over in the parking lot of their favorite restaurant... and gets knocked unconscious in the process. She's rushed to the hospital as the family stays to answer police questions about the (almost) hit-and-run. While Grand Mom's not down for good, she's not in stable condition, and Jayshree doesn't think this random hit-and-run is so random as it seems.
But this year's family reunion comes with a special announcement: Grand Mom's changed the will. It's not an even division between her children of her expensive properties in India. She's naming three specific heirs, and she needs Jayshree's help to vet the candidates.
Jayshree isn't sure she wants to be in the middle of an inheritance fight, but she doesn't have the time to process those feelings. Not when Grand Mom narrowly avoids getting run over in the parking lot of their favorite restaurant... and gets knocked unconscious in the process. She's rushed to the hospital as the family stays to answer police questions about the (almost) hit-and-run. While Grand Mom's not down for good, she's not in stable condition, and Jayshree doesn't think this random hit-and-run is so random as it seems.
THOUGHTS
This book is really fun! It has a great cast of characters who really come alive and feel like the family they're supposed to be (as messy as it is). Laced with dark humor and just the right dose of reality, this book was a really good time.
This book is really fun! It has a great cast of characters who really come alive and feel like the family they're supposed to be (as messy as it is). Laced with dark humor and just the right dose of reality, this book was a really good time.
PROS
| Grand Mom | Grand Mom is fierce and funny and caustic in just the right amount, and she's all of these things not just because the text tells us so. Her character demonstrates, time and again, what Jayshree loves about her so much, and I loved that. She might not play a very active role in this book (thanks, induced coma!), but every time she's in a scene, the scene is just that much more engaging. I loved this old lady, both as a character and as a role model for the generations of women coming after her and following in the footsteps she set first. She's a strong, independent, and very real woman, and I love that. |
| Not-So-Safe Space | Family is family, but that doesn't mean that family is perfect. It doesn't even mean that family is safe. And this book doesn't shy away from the fact that a large family gathering can leave some family members particularly vulnerable. Though this book doesn't go beyond insinuations and the ever-present fear of being left alone in the basement with an unfamiliar uncle (just the fear, mind you, and not what might come after), it still wrestles with the quiet part we don't normally say out loud. Of course, this is a book that deals in family killing family (potentially) with the whole Grand-Mom-hit-and-run plotline, but that's a hyperbolic sort of fear of family and not the very real fear of not being safe where you should be. The ubiquitous fear of that creepy uncle. The ever-present fear of family who will spew vitriol if you come out of the closet. The hard and sharp edges of family, who should love you best and just can't always do that. |
| Family Hurts | Aside from the more serious problems ubiquitous with large family gatherings, Jayshree has a more interpersonal mismatch happening in this book: she just doesn't quite fit in her family dynamic. Or she doesn't fit as much as she would like. Too young for the older cousins, too old for the younger cousins: she's stuck somewhere in the middle. And she's quieter than the others, sportier than the others. She doesn't have hobbies in common. She doesn't push and shove to have her voice heard, and so she can feel a little bit like she's stuck on the outside. And that's a relatable family gathering struggle as well. Sometimes it just doesn't feel like you fit, even with the people who made you. |
CONS
| Jayshree is a teenager. She wants to have her first romance (or, you know, some high school equivalent of romance). And for some reason, for her, that means finding someone she can make out with in a closet at the family reunion. Which, I guess, is fair enough. Other cousins have done it, bringing "friends" along for the ride. But maybe this reunion just isn't the time, okay? Grand Mom's been put in a coma! There's a romantic subplot here (though the "romance" is really secondary to the coming-of-age plot of young love), and I just don't think the story benefited from this subplot. In fact, the weird focus on this love interest by the family members felt horribly out of place, with the matriarch in the hospital. On top of the not-quite-fitting in the overall narrative, almost all of the "romantic" scenes between Jayshree and her possible beau were just a little too strong in the secondhand-embarrassment department for me. Could have done without. | Closet Kissing |
| This book has a rather... explosive conclusion, and I'm not a fan. It's not that this finale came out of nowhere. It just felt a little, well, much. And that might be a hot take. No, that's definitely a hot take. But it didn't quite work for me. | Explosive Conclusion |
| This book has a lot going on. It's got family squabbles. It's got coming-of-age elements. It's got just a touch of romance. And I think most, if not all, of those elements are really good. But that does mean we lose some of the nitty-gritty of the investigation in all these details. And I think this book would have been so, so much better if we did more sleuthing. I am a fan of teen sleuths, and that's really what I was hoping to get here. I don't think it was bad as it, but I do feel like not enough changed in the aftermath of Grand Mom's accident. What do you mean, we're just going about our family reunion business like normal? Very strange, and not quite as investigatory as I would have liked. | Neat, Not Nitty-Gritty |
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Fans of the campy murder mystery film Knives Out will like this new family-forward thriller. Those who liked the colors, flavors, and messy family dynamics of Sheba Karim's The Marvelous Mirza Girls will like this desi family reunion.
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Details
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Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own. |
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