Thursday 2 July 2020

✪ The Suicide House ✪ Charlie Donlea ✪





A chilling murder in a prestigious prep school is at the heart of this riveting new novel from acclaimed author Charlie Donlea, featuring forensic reconstructionist Rory Moore and her psychologist partner, Lane Phillips.

Inside the walls of Indiana's elite Westmont Preparatory High School, expectations run high and rules are strictly enforced. But in the woods beyond the manicured campus and playing fields sits an abandoned boarding house that is infamous among Westmont's students as a late-night hangout. Here, only one rule applies: don't let your candle go out--unless you want the Man in the Mirror to find you. . . .

One year ago, two students were killed there in a grisly slaughter. The case has since become the focus of a hit podcast, The Suicide House. Though a teacher was convicted of the murders, mysteries and questions remain. The most urgent among them is why so many students who survived that horrific night have returned to the boarding house--to kill themselves.

Rory, an expert in reconstructing cold cases, is working on The Suicide House podcast with Lane, recreating the night of the killings in order to find answers that have eluded the school, the town, and the police. But the more they learn about the troubled students, the chillingly stoic culprit, and a dangerous game gone tragically wrong, the more convinced they become that something sinister is still happening. Inside Westmont Prep, the game hasn't ended. It thrives on secrecy and silence. And for its players, there may be no way to win--or to survive. . . .



ARC received via Netgalley for an honest review

Woah.  Just.. woah.

From the minute I picked up The Suicide House, I could not put it down.

It is a fascinating, gripping tale of murder, suicide (or is it) and the hunt for what really happened that night a year ago.

There were so many holy moly and WTF moments in this tale.  As I turned each page, I was sure I knew what had happened. And each time, Charlie Donlea had left me on another wild goose chase, and left me scratching my head.  Until again I thought I knew whodunnit.

I did have an inkling late in the story as to who it was, but not the full tale.  I had no idea of motives or the whys of it all.

I was buddy reading this story, so my friend and I were constantly messaging each other with our thoughts on what was happening

In fact, at one stage I did say that one part had an I Know What You Did Last Summer vibe lol

Slowly but surely, Donlea pulled all the strings together, and this story came around full circle, the intriguing and horrible prologue now making sense.

I am new to Charlie Donlea's writing, so I did not know our main characters at all, but that did not affect anything. It has left me wanting more of Rory and Lane, and the end of this story has left me with the hopes of many, many more mysteries for me to solve.

I now also have a fantastic looking back catalogue to look up.