Cara Hunter | Murder in the Family

The first twist was that the man who was murdered, believed to be Luke Ryder is not actually Luke Ryder (referred to as Fake-Luke moving forward). The man that married Caroline and became Guy’s step-father was actually a serial conman who had changed his identity multiple times. Fake-Luke was actually from Canada, and had faked his death as a teenager when he was caught having an affair with a local man’s wife.

Real Luke Ryder is believed to have killed someone in a hit and run in Australia in his early 20s, and he left to avoid detection. In Beirut real-Luke is killed in a bus bombing, which is when fake-Luke steals his identity.

Mid-book, we find out that Nick (The Producer of the TV Show) picked most of the experts due to their connection to the case. We find out the following:

Alan Carrick – His sister was swindled by the fake “Luke Ryder” before fake-Luke marries Caroline.

Mitchell Clarke – Was arrested and interrogated by police the night of the murder as he was at the crime scene. He was there because he was dating Maura (who was 15 to his 21).

Hugo Fraser – He was having an affair with Caroline at the time of the murder. It is suggested that Hugo was the man Caroline dated as a teenager and was the father of her baby that she likely gave up for adoption. It isn’t clear if this is true.

Laila Furness – Her connection is just a coincidence. She shares her maiden name with the hit and run victim in Australia, and her brother was killed in a hit and run accident, but is not the same person.

JJ Norton – He is briefly believed to be the long-lost son of Caroline that was adopted. He is adamant that it is not him, and it seems we are supposed to believe that.

Bill Serafini – Bill had already been working on a case regarding fake-Luke, specifically one of his crimes from much earlier in his life. He had already figured out many of the fake identities prior to the show, but revealed this information as if it was new during the course of the show.

Ultimately, we find out that Ian Wilson confronted fake-Luke the night of his murder regarding the inheritance that fake-Luke was in line for (and which was Ian’s before fake-Luke showed up in the UK). Ian was the mystery phone call from King’s Cross. During their heated argument, fake-Luke accidentally falls down the stairs. Ian runs away afraid.

Soon after, Amelie comes home early from the movie and sees 10-year old Guy covered in blood and standing over the body. She cleans Guy up and puts him back to bed. Maura returns home from her secret date with Mitchell, and sees Amelie cleaning up blood and using the washing machine. When Maura finds the body, she assumes Amelie was the murderer and she covers for Amelie. For 20 years, she believes her sister was the killer.

The psychologist on the show (Laila) believes that Guy disassociated because seeing fake-Luke fall triggered him due to watching his father die of a heart attack. Guy had a history of blackouts during traumatic events, and he had no memory of killing fake-Luke. Luke dies soon after the revelation and it is ruled a suicide.

The book ends with a news article that mentions a red-headed nurse in Guy’s home right before he died. This is supposed to lead us to believe it was fake-Luke’s sister killing Guy for revenge.

• Was Bill, the NYPD officer in London for that conference on the date of the murder? If he wasn’t involved in the murder, why did he lie about attending?
• The experts’ comment on the fact that Caroline is the first woman fake-Luke married, and he didn’t seem to be conning her, was he really in love with her? This is never brought full circle.
• Who is Caroline’s baby that was likely adopted? Was Hugo the father? Was JJ the child?
• How did fake-Luke learn real Luke’s history and find the grandmother? He had little to no information on real-Luke’s life after the bombing, how could he possibly have learned about the grandmother?
• Was Guy really murdered by fake-Luke’s sister? Honestly, I would have preferred a suicide, this was unnecessary.