A Sickness in the Family

"A Sickness in the Family" is definitely worth reading if you like sick, twisted dysfunctional family stories. Personally, I get bored really fast with that genre because the characters and plots are usually all the same and are all equally miserable to read. This one sets itself apart a little, taking its miserable characters to a theatrical extreme and pretty much covering the gamut of potential home troubles from drug abuse to elder neglect. While this could be a negative thing, it works well with the story to the point where it became a fun game to guess who would kick the bucket first. I enjoyed how the periodic nods to Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" as well as the illustrations, particularly the detail in the portraits show more gave the story a poetic beauty despite the violence. In the tradition of a great mystery story the ending took me by surprise and gave me that moment where the little things suddenly fit together.

This is a quick read that takes just about the same amount of time as reading a Poe story (I spend a lot of time staring at the pictures). Good for people who enjoy crime, horror and realist graphic novels. show less

Denise Mina is one of the leaders of Scotland’s Tartan Noir genre and her stories generally fall to the dark side. In A Sickness in the Family, she continues the tradition. A graphic novel with artwork by Antonio Fuso, this is one from the Vertigo series of crime stories by various authors, which includes one by Ian Rankin. In shades of black, white and grey, this twisted tale slowly reveals the dark undercurrents of one family.

Told in flashback form, the story opens on Christmas Day and all seems normal as the Usher family gathers around the dinner table. Their festive meal is interrupted by the screaming of the couple who live in the downstairs flat. This couple is soon found, both dead, appearing to be a murder-suicide.

Deciding show more that they need the room, the father opens this house up to include the basement flat. Strange things start to happen and before long they are accusing each other and casting suspicious looks. One by one they start to die. Who is behind the murders? Each one of them has a good reason to want the others dead, or, could this be the house itself that is causing this evil to erupt.

Foreboding and creepy, Denise Mina delivers a story that suits this genre perfectly. The accompanying artwork helps to keep the mood sombre and chilling. If you are interested in a small walk on the dark side, I would recommend A Sickness In the Family. show less

A GN about the Usher family, consisting of Dad, who has just sold the family company, which leaves snotty daughter Amy without a career. Mum has stopped loving Dad and marriage counseling is going badly, while son William has been kicked out of Oxford for some mysterious reason, and Nana is despised by everyone except the adopted son, Sam, who cares for her after she falls through the gaping hole left in the floor during the flat expansion. The Ushers were dysfunctional before the re-modeling, but now there is evil in the house.
Really interesting story, and it seems, from the ending that there may be a continuation. The cover is very creepy.

If stories of twisted, creepy family tales intrigue you, this one is a bit of a gem. A bit outside of my usual reading as it is more of a crime GN - and a dark one at that - but still one that made for a great quick read. The story has the bite and hold of a Edgar Allen Poe story, and yes, it did make me think of 'The Fall of the House of Usher' a bit as I was reading this one. If you decide to read it, the story takes some time to build and it is mainly due to the great ending that I was able to give it the rating that I have. Fuso's artwork is devoid of colour - all black, white and shades of grey - in keeping with the dark story Mina has written. I really like the attention to detail of shadow, facial expressions and body language in show more the illustrations. The story was the perfect length, once I realized how important the mundane details at the start of the story really were. The lightweight, off-colour recycled paper the story is printed on was a perfect complement to the story. This type of story doesn't need and in fact works against the idea of a story that is anything but black and white being produced on high gloss paper using sharp black ink.

I recommend this one for readers of dark, crime novels that focus on the inner workings of a family and for GN enthusiasts. show less

A horror mystery story. Well constructed. Some of the characterisations felt a bit inconsistent and I wasn't very keen on the art. But a good sense of menace. An enjoyable, quick read, but by no means unmissable.

A really great concept - The Fall of the House of Usher in a noir, family-with-hidden-secrets kind of way.

But that's not what I got. Well, I did get twisted family secrets, but nothing that really gave me the same feeling of "cursed" like what I expected.

A Sickness in the Family is the graphic novel mystery tale of an extremely dysfunctional family. After the murder of their downstairs neighbors, the Usher family seems doomed to the same fate. But who's killing of the Ushers one by one and why? As we learn more about each character, we learn that they all have motive to be the last member of the family standing. Will any make it out alive?

This was my first experience reading a graphic novel. To be honest, I don't care for the format. I had trouble following the dialogue and the scene changes. I think this story could have been a great mystery thriller in traditional book form. More suspense could have been created through the description of the characters and the setting. The twenty show more minutes that it took me to read the graphic novel just wasn't enough to get me immersed in the story the way I like to get immersed in mysteries.

This graphic novel is definitely for ages seventeen and up. The language is atrocious. I'm not sure why, but profanity seems to be more potent in print. The themes of the story are also for an older audience: adultery, elder abuse, drug abuse, domestic violence, and greed to the point of murder. I would hesitate before recommending this book. show less