TITLE Confessions of a Murder Suspect (Teen Detective Series #1)AUTHOR James Patterson And Maxine Paetro
PUBLICATION September 24th 2012 by Little, Brown and Company
READ September 23, 2012
SOURCE Hachette Book Group Canada
James Patterson returns to the genre that made him famous with a thrilling teen detective series about the mysterious and magnificently wealthy Angel family . . . and the dark secrets they're keeping from one another.I had read quite a few adult James Patterson novels prior to starting my blog and had been meaning to give one of his YA novels a go. But that just hadn't happened yet, so when I got Confessions of A Murder Suspect in the mail I was quick to jump right in. What grabs you first is the stunning cover, which is beautiful on the front, the back and even inside. What really takes hold of you is when you read the very first page and realize that the novel is written as if Tandy, our (unreliable) narrator is speaking directly to us. She is telling the reader her story, it's a confession of sorts.
On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things: 1) She was the last person to see her parents alive. 2) The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings. 3) She can't trust anyone--maybe not even herself. Having grown up under Malcolm and Maud's intense perfectionist demands, no child comes away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to clear the family name, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous-and revealing-game. Who knows what the Angels are truly capable of?
Tandy, short for Tandoori (how cool right?) comes from a family that definitely has their fair share of quirks. From the decor of their house to the odd Big Chop punishments dished out by Malcolm and Maud (mom & dad) I was entranced and found myself furrowing my brow at a lot of the descriptions of how the Angel family carried out their day to day life. That definitely escalated the story and had me turning the pages, not even mentioning the mystery yet. I'll admit, I had no idea what was going on, I had no one to point my finger at as Patterson slowly revealed small clues and revealed the Angel family history. I will say that the big reveal was a bit of a letdown, and I think it could have been much more twisty and interesting, but alas, I have to review what I read.
The Angel family is full of interesting, different characters. Patterson successfully created a whole family of characters that are perfectly flawed in their own way and felt completely different from one another. I liked Tandy, she had balls and she had the brains to back it up. She would run off at the mouth, but not before carefully thinking about each word that she was going to send out. Her twin, Harrison, couldn't have been more of an opposite, he was an emotional wreck and he wore his emotions on his sleeve. And Hugo, oh Hugo, the 10 year old monster who had more pent up rage than anyone I've ever known. Most of the scenes with Hugo had me chuckling so I always appreciated when he made an appearance.
While this is not a perfect novel, and probably won't blow your mind in the end, it was a fun read with just enough quirks to suck you in and hold you. I am very happy that this is the beginning of a series because I want more of Tandy and after everything was revealed I am dying to see what becomes of the Angel children. Please, Mr. Patterson, don't keep me waiting too long!
