Review: "Charlie Donlea’s New Thriller, The Suicide House, Will Shock you To Your Core!"
By Better Reading August 2020
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…
From the second you pick up Suicide House and start reading, and you’re greeted with a journal of someone confessing to killing multiple people, you know you’re in for a terrifying story. Charlie Donlea’s newest thriller is a sensationally creepy novel, a gruesome and bloodcurdling mystery that will shock you to your core.
The many points of view and characters within this story that twist and turn until the very end make this journey something special. With beautifully clear-cut writing and some compelling and colourful characters, Suicide House is an outstanding addition to the thriller genre.
Westmont Preparatory High School is an excellent setting. The contrast between the abandoned boarding house and the rest of the charming school makes those suspenseful moments that much better.
Suicide House is an exceptional thriller, one I couldn’t put down. If you’re after a great thriller, this should be on your to-be-read pile! I can’t wait for what Charlie comes out with next!
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of The Girl Who Was Taken and Don't Believe It comes a riveting twister of a thriller featuring enigmatic cold case expert Rory Moore and famed profiler Lane Phillips.‘On the other side of that wall are the woods, and in those woods is a forgotten path that leads to the infamous boarding house.’Beyond the manicured campus of Indiana’s elite Westmont Preparatory School sits an abandoned boarding house, popular among students as a late-night hangout - and recently the scene of a dangerous game gone wrong.
One year ago, two students were killed there in a grisly slaughter. Though a teacher was convicted of the murders, mysteries and questions remain. The most urgent among them is why three survivors of that terrible night have returned to the house to kill themselves.
Well-known criminal profiler Dr Lane Phillips, hired as an adviser on a popular podcast about the tragedy, knows this is the perfect puzzle for his partner Rory Moore, a forensic reconstructionist with an uncanny ability to spot the details others miss.But the more Lane and Rory learn about the school and its students, the more convinced they are that the game hasn’t ended. And for its players, there may be no way to win – or to survive . . .
AUTHOR Charlie Donlea
PUBLISHER Penguin Random House (AU)
GENRE Crime Fiction
RELEASED 04 August, 2020
Tags: #charliedonlea #bookreview #thesuicidehouse #australia #betterreading #penguinrandomhouse #crimethriller #crimefiction #suspense #mystery #psychologicalthriller #thriller #rorymoore #lanephillips