A year ago, there was a horrific tragedy at a prestigious prep school in Indiana. A teacher went on a grisly rampage and murdered two students, and then threw himself in front of a train attempting suicide but did not die and now is living in a vegetative state. And some of the students who witnessed the incidents have since taken their own lives, by throwing themselves in front of trains.
Now, a year later, the murder and the sordid ordeal are being brought back into the spotlight by a very popular criminal podcast. They are calling the episodes The Suicide House due to the abandoned boarding house where the tragedy happened. As the episodes begin, the anxiety of students and teachers at the school increases. And then another one of the students who witnessed the murder throws himself in front of a train.
That is when cold case expert Rory Moore and her partner Lane Phillips, a forensic psychologist are asked to come to Indiana and recreate what happened that night at the isolated house which was often times used for student rituals. Perhaps clues were missed at the scene and new eyes can shed new light on that night.
Moore, who herself has a few idiosyncrasies, has just finished up solving a cold case and usually needs time to decompress, but Phillips who knows her soft spots convinces her to help him. But nothing is as it seems in this small town and their presence begins to stir things up. Why?
The story races back and forth between what happened during the days leading up to the murders, to the new investigation and new puzzle pieces. There are chapters in which diary entries from a mysterious unknown person are read while they are in what seem to be counseling sessions.
Is someone lying? What really happened that night? What kind of burden do the students carry with them from that evening that they would want to take their own lives? Why would a teacher snap and kill his students?
The Suicide House is a heart thumping psychological case study in insanity with twists and turns that leave you craving for more. The ending….a volcanic eruption!
This is the second book in the Moore/Phillips series and as Donlea writes in the afterward, he tries to make sure that all his books can be read as a stand alone as well. Since I was unaware this was a series book until I read his note at the end, I can certainly say he was able to accomplish what he set out to do.
The Suicide House can be preordered right now. Publication date is July 28. Get it!
Thank you #NetGalley #Kensington #CharlieDonlea #TheSuicideHouse for the advanced copy.
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