The Family at No. 23 by Kathryn Sharman review – A stunning debut
This is one of the strongest debuts of 2025.
The Family at No. 23 by Kathryn Sharman: The key details
- Publish date: 28 August 2025
- Genre: Domestic thriller
- Publisher: Hodder
- Series/standalone: Standalone
- Length: 272 pages
Blurb: On Riddleston Road each house reaches three storeys high, with smart gabled roofs and neat garden paths unfurling from pastel coloured front doors. Wide, sash windows stare outwards from the brick facades, revealing a glimpse of beautiful interiors. And concealing dark secrets.
Today a new family has moved into number twenty-three. A family who shouldn’t be there.
As Iris stacks boxes in the hallway, she knows she has made a mistake in coming here. This house will mean her son will get the future he deserves. That will make everything she’s done worth it.
But someone knows Iris’s secret and what she did to get her dream home… Would she kill to keep it?
The Family at No. 23 by Kathryn Sharman: The review
My god, when it comes to fantastic debuts, 2025 just keeps on giving. The Family at No. 23 by Kathryn Sharman is a masterpiece; it weaves a narrative that has made me wince, gasp, laugh and cry. Beautifully written and loaded with emotion and tension, I could not put this down once I’d started.
This is the story of Iris, a 40-something married mum to teenager Ben. She’s clearly unhappy; her marriage isn’t great, her son has always been sickly and now he’s growing up he seems to be growing apart from her. All she has is her best friend Laura, whose life seems perfect in comparison.
And when Laura moves, allowing her own son to attend a posh grammar school, leaving Iris and Ben behind, Iris knows she must do something. Ben must attend the same school no matter what the cost. But just how far will a mother go to make sure her son has the best in life?
To call The Family at No. 23 a thriller would be a misnomer. ‘Domestic suspense’ is a better description, but even though it might be a slow burn, I’ve been on the edge of my seat throughout. Few books have made me as nervous as this, in the best way possible. The characters – from Iris to Laura, their husbands and even their sons – are hard to like; ‘morally grey’ doesn’t quite cut it. And yet they are fascinating, compelling, written with such depth and realism.
I hated Iris as the book began — an unkindness to a cat was all it took to have me disliking her, although that’s far from the worst thing she does throughout the course of the book! But as I read further into The Family at No. 23, I found myself caring and empathising with her. She’s clearly unhappy and mentally unwell, and I found myself longing for someone to help her. It’s one of the best depictions of a broken woman I’ve read. A cautionary tale of when life gets too much.
Kathryn, you should be so proud of what you’ve created here. It’s an incredible debut, and I’m so excited for whatever you have planned next. Cheers to you! 🥂
With thanks to Netgalley and Hodder for providing access to an advanced digital copy of the book.
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