Meet the In-laws

Judith D Collins
Jul 25
8 min read

Updated: Jul 25

Meet the Parents #2

By: Emily Shiner

Narrators: Elise Roth, Madeline Pell

Hachette UK

ISBN: 978-1807221713

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 07/30/2026

Format: e-book

My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)

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As my mom greets my husband for the first time, I spot the new diamonds in her ears. She’s trying to impress him, although I know her smile is fake. But that’s okay. Because so is mine…

The mother-in-law: Carol has planned a weekend of home-cooked dinners and cocktails on the deck getting to know her new son-in-law. But then she sees the way handsome Owen grips her daughter Gina’s arm too tightly. She knew Gina got married too fast. And Carol will make sure Owen wants for nothing while she uncovers all his lies.

The son-in-law: Owen has put what happened when Gina met his parents behind him. Now, he’ll charm her mother Carol with compliments and ignore the way she hovers. But when he catches her snooping through his medicine bag, he knows he’ll have to keep her quiet…

The wife: Owen has never asked Gina very much about her parents. He’ll regret that now he’s here. Her mother was never very attentive when she was growing up. But she did like things to be perfect. So Gina is going to show her all of Owen’s flaws… and Carol just won’t be able to help herself.

By the end of this trip, a marriage will be over. But who will make it out alive?

Meet the In-Laws is an absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller that will keep you up reading late into the night! Fans of Daniel Hurst, Freida McFadden and The Perfect Marriage will be totally hooked.

This book can be read as a standalone.

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About the Author

Emily Shiner grew up in Western North Carolina, and after going to college in Charlotte, returned to her beloved mountains to write novels that keep you up at night. She lives with her husband, daughter, two dogs, menagerie of chickens, and tens of thousands of bees. When not writing, she’s reading, hiking, or drinking copious amounts of tea while daydreaming about fall. WEBSITE

Meet the Parents Series

MEET THE PARENTS #1

MEET THE IN-LAWS #2

Exceptional Authors,

Standout Books. Elevator Talk.

Behind the Book and the Author

🛗 #LitLiftMiniAuthorChats

The Emily Shiner Edition

MEET THE IN-LAWS and Book Tour Spotlight

Meet the Parents #2 Out July 30, 2026

Welcome back to the #LItLift Booklovers!

Chat Hook: As a Bookouture partner and a long-time fan of NC author Emily Shiner, we're honored to have her join us again on the Lift with her latest twisty thriller and follow up with #2 in Meet the Parents series.

Three liars. One roof. Let the games begin.

The Vibe: "Tense, malicious, and deeply paranoid." Sharp-witted, a wicked, masterfully executed domestic thriller that pairs toxic family dynamics with a genuinely chilling locked-room conspiracy.

One house. Three agendas. Who survives the weekend?

Behind the Book

Emily, welcome back! Q. Name 3 to 5 things readers may (or may not) know about MEET THE IN-LAWS.

🛗EMILY:

We have gorgeous balds around where I live in North Carolina and I had one specific one in mind when writing the THEN chapters.
I’ve been dying to write this sequel since Meet the Parents released, and it’s partially because so many readers messaged me and I got to pass that they wanted to know what happened next on to my editor that it finally happened!
I didn’t start out wanting the book to have an underlying theme of a mother’s love for her daughter, but it’s there, and I’m glad. So many readers have picked up on it and told me how much they loved that!

Behind the Author

Q. What are 3 to 5 fun, fast things readers may (or may not) know about YOU?

🛗EMILY:

I’m slowly working my way up to being able to bench press my weight. Halfway there is almost there, right? Right?!?
I don’t have any social media on my phone—if we’re yapping or I’m posting, I’m at home on my computer or my dumb phone that doesn’t have a plan (so it only connects to WIFI at home).
I love knitting and usually work on my current project every evening. I just finished my third sweater! Now I just need it to be fall because I’m a little toasty wearing it around the house.

Q. Have you ever been on vacation with your husband and in-laws? How did it compare to the book? (without spoilers, of course).

🛗EMILY:

We’ve never all gone on vacation together before, but visiting them in upstate New York is like a vacation! Picture sitting by the campfire on the edge of a huge lake, coyotes calling in the distance, and no cell service for miles. Come to think of it, maybe there’s a book in there somewhere…

Quick Fire 🛗Bonus Round

Q. Zodiac sign. Favorite Color. Favorite Season. Pet Peeve. Superpower.

🛗EMILY:

Sagittarius.
The bright green after a spring rain.
Autumn.
People talking on speakerphone in public.
Being able to turn anything into a song and have it rhyme.

Q. Plotting a new thriller: Pen & paper; or typing on a laptop, tablet, phone?

🛗EMILY: Pen and paper all the way! I can’t think things through without a pen in hand and I draw tons of arrows to move things around as I work through a plot.

Q. If the elevator were stuck between floors, what legendary author would you choose for their undivided attention to plot and strategize about your next book idea?

🛗EMILY: Dean Koontz! I love his books, but first we’d have to talk about how traumatized I was when I read Intensity in middle school.

Q. What is your go-to snack or beverage in the middle of intense plotting?

🛗EMILY: Tea, without a doubt. I prefer peach or chai, and I love snaking on dates stuffed with peanut butter. Pop them in the freezer and they’re delicious!

Q. If you could pick the perfect vacation home anywhere in the world, where would the doors be opening?

🛗EMILY: I’d love to step out on the porch of some little cabin on a lake in Vermont. I’m not a huge heat/summer person, so a lovely fall day canoeing and reading a book by the fire would be perfect. Bonus points if it’s the height of fall and all of the leaves are reflected in the lake.

Q. A book recommendation.

🛗EMILY: Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams.

I definitely have a fear of caving/being in caves/thinking about caves, and this book had me hooked. As soon as I finished it, I passed it on to my sister, and she read it in an afternoon.

Q. The elevator doors are opening to exit. What is the ONE word you hope readers text someone, repeat, or post when they turn the last page of "Meet the In-Laws?”

🛗EMILY: I can’t write it out—all I can say is it’s going to have four letters and be followed by this string of emojis:

Thank you, Emily, for spending time with us today!

What a blast! I am totally with you on the fall setting (my favorite too—take me there now!) I also share your recommendation of author, Taylor Adams and especially, "The Last Word" and "No Exit." Be sure and pick up Emily's "Meet the Parents" and "Meet The In-Laws" out now! Check out my 5-star review below and join Emily on tour.

#MeetTheInlaws

My Review

"A wicked and claustrophobic psychological game where family rivalries turn lethal inside an isolated vacation home."

If your spouse and your mother went to war, whose side are you taking? 👇🫣

3 Perspectives. 2 Days. 0 Survivors.
One house. Three agendas. Who survives the weekend?
The Mother, the Husband, and the Wife. None of them is innocent.
Three liars. One roof. Let the games begin.

In MEET THE IN-LAWS, bestselling author Emily Shiner delivers a deeply atmospheric, modern domestic thriller mystery following up with the characters from the wicked wildly entertaining, Meet the Parents with #2. The story hinges on three manipulative family members who must out-think each other while trapped together during a high-stakes weekend getaway.

Toxic family dynamics vs. a ruthless fight for survival.

Elevator Pitch

A mother, her daughter, and her son-in-law enter a remote holiday home, each harboring a dark agenda: the mother wants exposure, the husband wants silence, and the wife wants destruction As the isolated walls close in, their psychological warfare escalates into a lethal locked-room battle where nobody is innocent.

Setting

A secluded, modern vacation estate completely cut off from the outside world. The setting is a claustrophobic, high-end property defined by tense dinner conversations, locked doors, and a suffocating lack of escape routes that transforms a family holiday into a literal combat zone.

Vibe

Tense, malicious, and deeply paranoid.

Cleverly blending the dark, twisted family deceptions of The Silent Patient with the fast-paced, high-stakes claustrophobia of a classic domestic locked-room showdown.

Genre

Psychological Thriller / Domestic Suspense / Locked-Room Thriller.

Series

Meet the Parents #2

Standout Characters

CAROL, OWEN, & GINA: THE UNRELIABLE TRIO Turning standard domestic archetypes into sharp, competitive predators.

Carol (The Mother): Obsessive, calculating, and fiercely protective; a matriarch who orchestrates a trap to expose her son-in-law's web of lies.
Owen (The Son-in-Law): Ruthless, defensive, and desperate; a man caught snooping who quickly pivots to silencing his accuser permanently.
Gina (The Wife/Daughter): Saboteurs, bitter, and unpredictable; she plays both sides to leak secrets and detonate her own marriage intentionally

Why You Should Read

Read this if you are a fan of wicked, fast-paced domestic thrillers like The Housemaid meets Succession, or if you want a relentless whodunit that removes traditional heroes and forces you to guess who will survive the weekend.

Author Writing Standout

Shiner’s background in crafting breakneck psychological suspense shines through in her sharp, biting dialogue and relentless pacing. She completely avoids writing the characters as simple victims or villains, crafting their everyday interactions, mental calculations, and growing paranoia with striking realism.

Takeaway

The most polished family facades often conceal the deepest rot; when a household values control over truth, the secrets they keep will eventually tear the home apart.

Title Significance

Meet the In-Laws acts as an ironic, dark nod to the traditional, awkward milestone of blending families. It highlights how easily a standard domestic visit can crash into a murderous reality, forcing a family to realize that blood relation offers absolutely no safety from a monster in the house.

Metaphor

The isolated vacation home serves as the central metaphor of the novel. It represents the heavy, suffocating weight of domestic expectations—a modern sanctuary of family bonding that ultimately transforms into a physical, inescapable trap used as a weapon against them.

My Thoughts

MEET THE IN-LAWS is a razor-sharp, toxic domestic locked-room thriller!

Would you rather stay in a house with a lying husband or a controlling mother?

Keep your friends close.

Keep your in-laws locked out.

Trust no one!

Highlights:

Three-Way Perspective: The story utilizes multi-POV narration (Carol, Owen, and Gina), giving readers front-row seats to conflicting, unreliable minds.
Fast-Paced Timeline: The compressed weekend setting forces rapid plot progression and keeps the tension high.
Wicked Humor: Shiner infuses the dark psychological suspense with sharp, biting satirical commentary on upper-middle-class family dynamics.
No "Good Guys": A major highlight for thriller fans is the absence of a traditional hero; readers are left guessing who to root for as everyone's morality degrades.

Verdict 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Stars

"A wicked, masterfully executed domestic thriller that pairs toxic family dynamics with a genuinely chilling locked-room conspiracy."

Recs

For more standout psychological suspense by the author, Emily Shiner, I highly recommend:

~Meet the Parents, the fiery first book in this duology that establishes the dark origins of Gina and Owen's marriage.

~Our Perfect Holiday by Daniel Hurst (A family's dream vacation turns into a psychological nightmare as hidden resentments, deceptions, and dangerous secrets bubble to the surface).

~The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth (for a rich, witty, and atmospheric domestic mystery regarding toxic extended families).