A Family Affair (Cassandra Palmer, #4.1)

by Karen Chance

[Quirky Cat]

A Family Affair by Karen Chance is another one of the short stories that fits into the Cassandra Palmer World. In this instance, it’s another one from the perspective of Pritkin! So fans of his should be thrilled about this one.
Unlike the House at Cobb End, A Family Affair is set in the present. Well, the present for the main series, that is. Which means that Cassie and all of the others have a presence in this plot. It fits in after Curse the Dawn, but before Shadowland (another short story).
A Family Affair brings a problem straight to Pritkin’s feet – in the form of his father. He’s got a deal to offer, but naturally there are risks involved. And one of those risks should probably be whether or not the demon can be trusted…
Side note before we begin: I’ve actually read this whole series multiple times (it’s one of my favorites), but it wasn’t until recently that I realized that I’ve never reviewed the older books in the series. So here I am, reading them all again, and loving every minute of it.
Because I’m doing a reread with a group of people (the Karen Chance Street Team – message me if you want to know more about it) I’m also going to include the discussion prompts we’ve been using. That will be at the end of the review, so if you’re curious, check it out.


A Family Affair was one of those short stories that you wish would just keep on going. It completed the plot, of course, but that doesn’t mean I was ready for it to end! The characters and plot made for a really fun and fast paced read.
As per usual, Cassie showed us her particular talent for getting herself into trouble. It probably didn’t help that the trouble came from Pritkin’s family this time around (hence the name).
There were a lot of fun moments in this novel. But personally, I love that Cassanova got dragged around for this one. It felt somewhat karmic, considering how many times he’s whined about having to clean up or avoid the fights.
The implications in this short story were interesting – everything from what Rosier was doing, to what he had been ordered to do. I had forgotten where that whole plot had started, to be honest. So it’s nice to see the hints getting dropped.
I’m going to have to decide if I’m going to read Shadowland next, or move on to the next Cassie novel, Hunt the Moon. I’m torn.


Reread Commentary:
Again, spoiler warning here.
So reading this short story again, knowing full well where the Rosier plotline is going to lead, sure changes things. I know the truth behind Rosier’s words here, and just how bad the decision ends up becoming. It certainly added to the impact here, to put it mildly.


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