Skip to main content

CONFESSIONS OF A MURDER SUSPECT by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro



copyright date: September 2012
primarily marketed for: young adults

I love a good murder mystery.  Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro is just that.

Although the writing will not amaze you with literary quality, the story is well structured and manages to wrap itself up satisfactorily while still leaving loose ends enough to leave readers yearning for the next in what is sure to become a series.

Tandy, short for Tandoori, Angel is one of four children left behind after her parents, the wealthy and well-known Malcolm and Maud Angel, are murdered.  There are no signs of forced entry and nobody heard any noise.  The factual evidence leaves only Tandy, her three brothers, and her mother’s live-in assistant as suspects. 

The story is told in Tandy’s voice, including chapters titled ‘Confession’ that seem to let readers deeper into her story by revealing background.  Throughout the book it is clear that although Tandy is clearly searching for clues as to who might have murdered her parents, her information is not to be trusted and readers are unable to rule her out as a suspect since she is not even sure whether or not she was involved. 

Although the story is probably a little far-fetched I enjoyed the outlandish details like the family living at the Dakota apartments outside which John Lennon was shot.  I particularly liked the over the top artwork Malcolm and Maud collected and the storyline surrounding their scientific experiments intrigued me. 

Even though I had guessed pieces of the outcome of the story, there were still many surprises along the way and the story was satisfying.  If you enjoy a good murder mystery, this is a series you are going to want to start following.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Beth Stephens LMC DirectorDecember 20, 2012 at 7:09 PM

    I just finished this as well! Totally AGREE! I couldn't wait to see "how they did it".

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

You knew it was coming.  How could I not share?  EVERYONE MUST READ JOHN GREEN’S LATEST WORK OF ART: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS .  Throughout my life (well, at least from 4 th grade, when I was introduced to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl until now, the 7 th month of my 34 th year of noticing the universe) the name ‘Augustus’ immediately evoked an image of a chubby, stubborn, chocolate-loving boy, doted upon by his mother, with the last name of Gloop.  The name ‘Augustus’ made me giggle about this character’s gluttonous follies inside the chocolate factory. Until reading John Green’s beloved new book The Fault in Our Stars . From now on, the name ‘Augustus’ will forever evoke an entirely different image and an entirely different set of emotions.  A casually hot, lean, limping ‘Augustus Waters’ has forever replaced the ‘Augustus’ of the book I treasured as a child—an unlit cigarette held loosely between his lips.  A longing sigh ...
9 comments
Read more

A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness (inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd and illustrated by Jim Kay)

“Every time the monster moved, Conor could hear the creak of wood groaning and yawning in the monster’s huge body.” In her review for the New York Times , Jessica Bruder refers to A Monster Calls as, “A story that lodges in your bones and stays there.”  This, I believe, is an understatement.  I am afraid my words, mere pixels on the screen, cannot begin to honor how truly special this book is. From his words in the Author’s Note, Patrick Ness held me spellbound.  Siobhan Dowd had developed an idea for a book about a monster and a boy whose mom had cancer.  Breast cancer cut her life short and she was unable to finish her story.  Patrick Ness, when asked to craft something from the seed of a story Dowd left behind said, “…the thing about ideas is that they grow other ideas.”  And so, A Monster Calls was born out of Dowd’s seed and Ness’s nurturing. I suppose a book with that kind of conception was bound to be incredible, but I am sure not even ...
7 comments
Read more

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE by Jonathan Safran Foer

copyright date: 2005 primarily marketed for: adults Extremely Loud andIncredibly Close is the grown-up book that made me fall in love with grown-up books again.   Or, at least made me open to reading them after years of sticking solely to young adult literature (aka Good Literature).    This book arrived on my doorstep as a surprise gift from a friend I’ve known since second grade, which made it that much sweeter.    I can’t decide whether to be excited or disappointed that this book is being turned into a movie now.   Everyone needs to know this story- it is incredible!   I just can’t imagine the movie possibly doing the depth and layers and format of the story justice.   One of my favorite qualities of the book is the way pages of images are smattered throughout the story. The images are jarring the way that they interrupt the story, and yet they are perfect in the way that they enhance the story—deepen my thinking as a reader. ...
6 comments
Read more