Via Goodreads Title: The Murder House
Author: James Patterson
Genre: Thriller and Suspense
How I got the book: I bought it
Summary (from Amazon):
No. 7 Ocean Drive is a gorgeous, multi-million-dollar beachfront estate in the Hamptons, where money and privilege know no bounds. But its beautiful gothic exterior hides a horrific past: it was the scene of a series of depraved killings that have never been solved. Neglected, empty, and rumored to be cursed, it’s known as the Murder House, and locals keep their distance.
Detective Jenna Murphy used to consider herself a local, but she hasn’t been back since she was a girl. Trying to escape her troubled past and rehabilitate a career on the rocks, the former New York City cop hardly expects her lush and wealthy surroundings to be a hotbed of grisly depravity. But when a Hollywood power broker and his mistress are found dead in the abandoned Murder House, the gruesome crime scene rivals anything Jenna experienced in Manhattan. And what at first seems like an open and shut case turns out to have as many shocking secrets as the Murder House itself, as Jenna quickly realizes that the mansion’s history is much darker than even the town’s most salacious gossips could have imagined. As more bodies surface, and the secret that Jenna has tried desperately to escape closes in on her, she must risk her own life to expose the truth–before the Murder House claims another victim.
My Review:
This is one of those stories that you just simply can’t put down.
This mystery is certainly soap-opera material. I thought it was going one way and then another and then another.
Detective Jenna Murphy tries to figure out a string of murders by a serial killer no matter what. She’s a headstrong, take-charge character which is the perfect personality for her. She doesn’t let any relationship get in the way of her investigation. Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes not so much.
Murphy’s past is something she has repressed and doesn’t really know about it for a while. As far as she’s concerned, it’s all nightmares. It isn’t until she meets a few people here and there that things start falling into place.
I found all the characters to be likable (except the killer of course) and there were a few characters I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to like them or not. Each character had a purpose and their own unique way of speaking and doing things.
The point of view got confusing at times. It was written in first-person through Jenna’s eyes during some chapters, but other chapters were written in third-person through the killer’s eyes and sometimes through another character, Noah’s, eyes.
The killer was extremely creepy and this is not a book I recommend reading right before going to bed. It sent chills down my spine and I think that’s exactly the way to write a good thriller.
I ended up figuring out all the mysteries (there’s more to it than just, “who’s the killer?”) before the end of the book and I was quite pleased with myself.
The Murder House by James Patterson gets 5 out of 5 stars.
Favorite Quote:
“Don’t worry, your favorite neice still loves you,” I say. “But your favorite detective still thinks you’re a horse’s ass.” –James Patterson, The Murder House
Related Reviews:
Confessions of a Murder Suspect
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
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