THE SUICIDE HOUSE
BY CHARLIE DONLEA
Westmont Prep High School – an elite boarding school in Indiana harboring some big secrets. When a group of selected students join the initiation for a top-secret cult led by upperclassmen, those secrets unleash horrifying murders and suicides. The murderer was caught, supposedly. But why the suicides?
Popular podcasts have kept the murders in the news, especially since the spate of suicides involving students have occurred. Rory Moore, forensic re-constructionist along with her work colleague and life partner, serial profiler Lane Phillips, are called to assist with research on the podcast. And the fun begins.
The Suicide House is a wonderful, suspenseful whodunit which kept me wondering throughout. There were so many possibilities and red herrings tossed out by the author, Charlie Donlea. To be fair, the red herrings all contributed to the conclusion, but never in the way I thought they would. There’s nothing better than a book that surprises you throughout, all the way to the end. This one definitely did that!
The book is a stand-alone, but its predecessor, Some Choose Darkness, which I can’t wait to read, apparently introduces the character of Rory, and gives some background as to her unique character, including her obsessive-compulsive disorder and possible placement on the autism spectrum. I found her character fascinating, especially her obsession with restoring antique dolls. Although some might wonder why this element is even part of the story, I found a parallel between her restoration and reconstruction of broken dolls from the past, and her reconstruction of cold cases, fitting pieces together to make sense of them again.
This was my first Charlie Donlea book, but it won’t be my last.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
5 creepy stars!
House of Black and Blue 