All in the Family is the second book in a series about the Field’s family by André Gress. Having read the first book and being left with a lot of untied ends and questions about the plot and characters, I was rather eager to get into the second book to get some answers.

The plot of this book is a lot more action packed than the first one: it follows the Field’s family, a family of prolific art thieves, who are being hunted by their arch nemesis Gavriil. Like Gress’ first book, I enjoyed this book mainly for the description of the plots. What was also interesting in this book was the dynamics built between the Field’s family characters- their interactions were riveting and offered a unique layer to the story.

Throughout the novel the author includes the narrative voice of another character, a raven who tells the story of what happened. Having an external character retell narratives was a powerful plot device. Since the raven didn’t seem to have any relation or connection to the story the reader is able to get an unbiased perspective.

Many themes in the book were dark and tense and I wanted to know more. As I mentioned before, the book is incredibly detailed so there are a lot of interesting choices when it comes to how things are described. There is a lot of really grotesque descriptions, especially regarding injuries or the appearance of the villain and sometimes I had to stop reading and then pick up where I left off. The grotesque language is used effectively, so if you’re a read who enjoys darkly creative scenes then you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. While I enjoyed the book overall, I felt that there was one particular part of the book that alluded heavily to sexual assault and I felt it was unnecessary. Otherwise, I enjoyed this book for the same reasons I enjoyed book one, for the themes and narrative choice in this book. A lot of the literary choices made by the author were well thought out and played an integral part in the plot.

All in the Family is a creative and dark thriller with an inventive plot that will keep you entertained with its meticulously developed world.

Pages: 281 | ASIN: B07F2TPWFD