Book Review Wednesday: The Suicide House by Charlie Donela

Last year around the same time, I wrote a review of Charlie Donlea's novel, "Some Choose Darkness" and I raved about it. It was such a good novel and I highly recommend it.

That's why when I saw Charlie Donlea's new novel, "The Suicide House" on NetGalley and that it was a 'sequel' to "Some Choose Darkness", I knew I had to read it. This wasn't a direct sequel to the first book but used two of the same characters, Rory and Lane, as the catalysts. There were mentions to the story that happened in the first novel but you definitely didn't have to read the first book to read "The Suicide House." 

I read this book incredibly fast, within a few days because it was a story that I couldn't put down. 

Publisher's Summary

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. . . .

My Thoughts

I love a good preppy school mystery novel and this was the definition of that. It felt like "Dead Poet's Society" meets "Pretty Little Liars" meets something else that is really scary. 

You're first introduced to the Westmont Prep killings without Rory or Lane being introduced... it is very gory, very detailed but very enticing. The story seems pretty straight forward at first and I wasn't totally convinced the teacher didn't do it, especially when you get halfway through the novel and something mind-blowing is revealed. It didn't seem to make sense of how this was going to end. 

However, once the killer is revealed, you see it all come together and it truly blew my mind. It was one of the most insane twists I've ever read *I've read a lot of twists* and the ending... with how it was figured out, it was creepy, gross, and jaw-dropping. 

I loved how the novel took us from past to present, through many different POVs because you got even more chances to try to figure out who killed the kids... and why the person killed them. What could cause such gruesome harm to teenagers? We do get a peek inside the killer's POV, but at the time, you don't even realize it's the killer. 

The way this book was organized and put together really made all the difference. It kept you on your toes but was easy to follow and understand the storyline. 

If you couldn't tell, I highly recommend reading "The Suicide House".... with a gentle trigger warning because there is suicide mentioned in the novel.

What are you reading this week?

xoxo
B