BOOK REVIEW: Confessions Of A Murder Suspect – by James Patterson

Title: Confessions Of A Murder Suspect
(Confessions #1)
Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Genre: YA, Mystery, Thriller
First published: September 24th 2012
Finished reading: January 8th 2016
Pages: 372

“He was already a sociopath, and he was just out of kinder-garten. I didn’t think much of it at the time. It was the family way.”

I’m trying to read more mystery/thriller books this year, so I decided to pick up my copy Confessions Of A Murder Suspect. I have read various James Patterson books in the past, but this is the first one meant for a YA public. I simply flew through the pages of this book; as always his stories are more than entertaining. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro use an unreliable narrator to tell the story of the mystery around the double murder of the Angel parents, but do so without it becoming annoying. Sure, the Angel family is without doubt a very eccentric family to say the last and their whole situation is on the border of fantastical, but it IS an entertaining read with a surprising ending. (I really didn’t see it coming until the very end!) I’m not sure I actually liked the main characters, but I really liked the writing style and prose. The pace is superfast with just the right dose of suspense and plot twists… Definitely recommended if you are looking for a quick, slightly disturbing and entertaining read.

When Malcolm and Maud Angel are found murdered, the only suspects seem to be the persons that were in their house at the time: their four children and their assistant. The mysterious and filthy rich Angel family has a lot of enemies, but there seem to be no signs of a break in… And the police doesn’t look for the killer elsewhere. Tandy Angel is determined to find out who killed her parents and decides to do her own detective work. She knows three things: she was the last person to see her parents alive, she and her three brothers are the only suspects the police focus on and she cannot trust even herself. Having grown up in the Angel’s house with the always present demand for perfection has left its mark on all children. Both the police and Tandy herself have a hard time finding out what really happened that night and who is guilty of what. The Angel family has a lot of secrets… Will Tandy be able to unravel the secret of her parents’ murder before the police will arrest both her and her siblings?

This is not your average detective story and I personally really enjoyed the unreliable narrator/ eccentric family twist both authors have used in Confessions Of A Murder Suspect. The main characters might not be totally likeable, but they fit perfectly with the image of this almost dysfunctional family. The prose is easy to read and the many plot twists and fast pace make you want to continue reading until you reach the end. I read this book in less than 24 hours and I will definitely try to get a copy of the sequel soon to find out what other secrets the Angel family has. Recommended!