I have to be honest and say it took me a while to get into this book as there was just to much back and forth and stories within the story.

With that being said, if you love a good whodunit murder mystery, than you will enjoy this book as there is lots of cray-cray, murder, abuse, lying, suicides or were they? Some things were believable, some not so much, but the cast of characters are great.

#Rory #Lane #NetGalley #NotasGoodasFirstOne

So I didn't know that this was the 2nd book in a series until I reached the author's note, but Donlea explains there that each book is a standalone, they just have some tidbits and character carry-over. Well, I enjoyed The Suicide House so much that I definitely intend to go back and read Some Choose Darkness, the first book with Lane and Rory. Speaking of them, the profiler (Lane) and forensic reconstructionist (Rory) are drawn to Peppermill, Indiana to try and find out what happened the previous summer. A little over a year ago, 2 students were slaughtered on a boarding school campus, the culprit one of the teachers. Since then, several of the key players that night have returned to commit suicide. There's a wildly popular podcast about the whole endeavor, and that's how Lane and Rory get involved, along with a reporter/true crime blogger named Ryder Hillier. There are so many layers to this story. We have flashbacks to the night of the murders, flashbacks to a long time ago, and then the parts set in the present, where we peel away events to reveal the truth. I was not able to predict what actually happened and I was very engrossed the whole time.
4.25 stars

I was provided a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion
Thank you to Kensington and Netgalley

The Suicide House by Charlie Donlea Reviewed on June 5, 2020 4++ Stars

This is my 4th [author: Charlie Donlea] novel and I am a fan!
Last July, I read "Some Choose Darkness" ~ Rory Moore/Lane Phillips Book #1 and in my 5 star review I said I looked forward to the next adventure with these two.
I got my wish with this novel.

An elite group (a Journalist, a Forensic Reconstructionist, and a profiler) are brought to Indiana to the elite boarding school Westmont Preparatory High School referred to as in a podcast as “The Suicide House". These experts are there to piece together a tale of murder, suicide, and a secret society.
The students are drawn to an abandoned boarding house on the edge of the campus. They have a yearly game called “The Man in Mirror”. However something goes wrong and two students are killed in a grisly manner. Although authorities believe they have the murderer, the students who took part in the game who survived the killing a year ago are now commenting suicide.

Rory Moore is a Forensic Reconstructionist who uses her autistic abilities to see what others cannot see and Lane Phillips is a psychologist who analyses serial killers.
I am a big psychological thriller fan and know to suspect EVERYONE. Nope didn’t see this coming.
I certainly am going to read the next Donlea novel as I love his novels and want to read more about these two!!

Additionally I enjoyed the Author’s Note (I always like to read what the author was thinking in writing a novel. The author’s notes always gives inside information). . In this Charlie Donlea mentions that Gus Morelli the crafty and wise detective was in an earlier novel. “Don’t Believe it” which I read and gave 5 stars.

Want to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 28, 2020

*received free copy from netgalley for honest review* I really cant make up my mind on this book, on the one hand im so annoyed with the (super stereotypical) autistic cop troupe being shoved so obviously in my face, like parts of this book worded it well but a few times I was just like ehhh that's kinda super rude....but the story itself was really good and I did like the characters even if I didn't care for how she talked about herself (which I will add is better than other books ive read like this were the rude comments are made by others about the character usually when theyre right but they talk about them like theyre not, I don't remember that happening in this book.

didn't get to read the first book in this series but when I read the authors note I really want to look into the other books as well, they sound interesting and im interested to learn more about the other characters as well!

My thoughts
trigger warning: suicide as well as depression
Would i recommend it? Yes
Would i read more of this series? Yes
Would i read more by this author? Yes
For a second book in a series this is way better than the first one, in this one we get to seem more
of Rory working on the dolls and it goes into more detail of what kindle of brushes and the stuff
she uses.Plus we see more of Lane as well and see more of what his job deals with .Another thing i liked about this one is how the author bright them more to life as well as the other characters. While there are more twist and turns and what seems a lot more going on in the background some how the author pulled it all together so that that the story line worked.I do have to say the story is told in different timelines and at times can be somewhat confusing but once again the author makes it work. It also makes you question yourself about the deaths of the students. Because the entire time i was reading it i kept asking myself was it suicide or was they killed because of something they did or might have seen.So if you read the first one then you need to check this one out just because of how bit more dark and twisted it is. With that said i want to thank NetGalley for letting me read and review it

4.5 stars!

A thrilling continuation of the series!

Rory Moore is a forensic reconstructionalist who suffers from extreme social anxiety. She has a proven track record of cracking unsolved police case files and finds herself entangled in helping her psychologist partner, Lane Phillips, on a chilling and mysterious prep school double murder. The two travel to the prestigious Westmont Preparatory High School to investigate and immerse themselves in the year old murder case of two students.

I’ve read and loved every single book Charlie Donlea has created and this was no exception. I jumped right back into these characters lives and felt myself grow even more attached to them. The thick, foreboding atmosphere of the elite boarding school grounds had me engrossed from start to finish. There is something about boarding school settings that always appeals to me. This was a fast paced thrilling mystery that had my mind flip flopping over who was guilty. The chillingly gruesome murders kept me on edge and curiously intrigued throughout. With the timelines being only one year apart, I found myself confused a few times at the start but as I worked deeper into the storyline, the flow became much easier to follow.

If you haven’t read a Charlie Donlea book, you need to drop everything and pick one up! I suggesting picking up book 1 in this series before reading this as it will give you a better understanding of the characters’ backstories and personalities. All of his other novels are standalones, however, he brilliantly incorporates his well-loved characters within more than one book which I love.

Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy!

A prep school full of secrets, a haunting year old double murder and a rash of suicides among those who survived.

What the what is going on??

Naturally a podcast is developed to answer this burning question. When Rory, an expert at reconstructing cold cases, gets involved suddenly there are more questions than answers.

I like stories that happen at elite schools and this one was held my interest from start to finish.

Thank you to Charlie Donlea, Kensington and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book rocks!!

I was immediately drawn in to the story about a gruesome murder with a group of teenagers,, this was a who done it type of book that keeps you guessing. I’m very impressed with how the author had multiple different stories going at once and was able to combined them all into one. This is a fast pace thriller you will love reading..
this was the first book by this author and I’m excited to read the other books who’s characters intertwined into this novel!!

this is a very smart book, intriguing and different from many others. i have been a fan of his work for years and he continues to surprise me. multiple viewpoints, multiple timelines and interesting complicated characters. my only bone to pick was why a mark and a mack and why a rhyder when we already had a rory, made it esp the mark and mack more confusing than need be. but this is a minor point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington books for the Advanced Release Copy of Suicide House in exchange for my review. I also won a print copy of this book from Bookish First.

I do have to admit that I was concerned going into this book because it was number two in a series, and I had not read number #1. As it turns out though, it didn't affect my reading of the book.

From the publisher "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. . . ."

The sheer number of characters made it difficult to follow at times since the story was told from multiple point of views. The ending was honestly pretty ingenious!

THE SUICIDE HOUSE
BY CHARLIE DONLEA


This one is a story that takes place at Westmont Prep School in Peppermill, Indianna. It boasts that all graduates are destined for top Universities. It also has two on site counselling services. On the Summer Solstice on June 21, 2019, the longest day of the year a senior challenges five students named Gwen, Gavin, Theo, Danielle and Bridget to meet in the woods after dark. They are tasked with each of them finding a hidden key and then going into an old abandoned Teacher's living quarters and saying Man in the Mirror while gazing into the mirror summoning good luck for them in their Senior year and making them have a heightened status if they succeed. The five of them are joined by a sort of tag along called Tanner and it includes Andrew Gross who hides the keys and makes the pledges swear to secrecy. After all five of them successfully complete their oaths they go outside and find Andrew Gross dead in a pool of blood and Tanner dead and impaled face first through the spikes at the top of the steel gate. Only Gwen stays with the two dead boys until the police arrive. The other four run back through the woods to the dorms. The police find Tanner's DNA and an unidentified second source of DNA on Gwen's clothing.

The mystery becomes the question of whose DNA that couldn't be identified did that unknown source belong to? Also the five of them lied to the police about what really happened? Why do three of them commit suicide after the fact by throwing themselves in front of an oncoming train at the site of the two murdered boys? Rory Moore and Lane Philip's are brought into the investigation as forensic pathologists to figure out what happened and why three of the Junior's who took part in the pledge committed suicide by train. I really liked the way Rory restored antique dolls as a way to process what may have happened. She is brilliant but suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This was very well paced and I was never bored and fairly entertained rather than being scared for a novel marketed as a thriller. I feel almost like I was reading a different book than some of the other reviewer's who said that this was really creepy. There isn't any gratuitous violence and it really wasn't graphic which I appreciated.I would rate this a 3.5 star rounded up. I still would recommend it but as more of a mystery. I have left out a lot of the plot and some key character's so as not to spoil it for those who plan to read it. Charlie Donlea , no doubt is a talented author that kept me fully engaged.

Publication Date: July 28, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, Charlie Donlea and Kensington Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheSuicideHouse #CharlieDonlea #KensingttonBooksPublishing #NetGalley

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of The Suicide House in exchange for my honest review.

I have really enjoyed my time with Charlie Donelea's books. Donlea's first book in this series, Some Choose Darkness, was outstanding so I had high expectations for The Suicide House. While I didn't like this book as much as I loved the first, it was a fun ride and one that I would take over and over again.

The Suicide House had a lot of different characters which was one of the downfalls of this novel. I liked the characters that I met but because I spent so little time with them, I didn't really feel much of a connection. I didn't really care if they "lived" or "died. It can be hard delving into a book with characters that you don't care much about.

Lane and Rory are one of my most favorite investigative teams and because there were so many characters in this book, I felt like I didn't spend as much time with them as I would have liked. While I LOVE a good drama at a ritzy and guarded boarding school, I wish the working and personal relationship of some of the coolest investigators out there could have been more drawn out.

Overall, this was a great addition to a great series. I hope the next one gives us more time with Lane and Rory.

As someone that works in education, I'm a sucker for a campus thriller. Boarding school, university, doesn't matter-- I want to read it. That's why I leaped at the chance to read and review this one. What I didn't know at the time was that this is the second book about forensic reconstructionist Rory Moore and her criminal psychologist boo Lane Phillips. That said, the book functions as a standalone. I didn't feel too out of the loop picking up The Suicide House without having read the book before it.

Westmont Preparatory School is a boarding school that caters to a variety of student clientele-- everyone from the elite to "troubled teens" with affluent parents willing to throw money at their children's education in hopes that a structured prep program will keep them out of juvie. While the school should be a peaceful hideaway in the middle of an idyllic setting, darkness has swept across the campus. A teacher is thought to have murdered two students in cold blood on the periphery of the school's grounds. Not long after, three students committed suicide in rapid succession. While the murder case was quickly closed, something isn't sitting right with the true crime community. As a result, the case has become fodder for YouTubers and podcasters alike. When Lane and Rory get pulled into the case, they become too curious to walk away (despite very compelling reasons to do so).

I'd give this book a solid 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for Goodreads. One thing I particularly enjoyed about this book is that one of the characters that happens to be living with a mental illness is one of the good guys. That's a breath of fresh air for a thriller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An intriguing story, a twisted and dark murder, characters that keep your gripped and a podcast that I wish was real. Donlea is a great author and her story will keep you turning the pages. Like a good thriller set aside a few hours because you will be HOOKED

Another great thriller that I read this week! Having the podcast part and host in it is something new, at least for me, and I find it quite original (it would be great on audiobook). The book had some lower and slower moments, during the middle of it mostly, but overall it was definitely a book I’m glad I read and heard about thanks to NetGalley, because otherwise, I’m not sure how or when I would have hear about it. One last thing, the school mystery was very intriguing and a bit creepy... I like that!

“The Suicide House" is a hit podcast that focuses on the grisly murders of two students at an elite school. Westmont Preparatory School is an elite boarding school where the "secret" society is a known secret. It is tradition. Stunts hope to be chosen to be initiated into the secret society, to go to the hidden cottage in the woods, and survive the Man in the Mirror. A year later the tradition becomes a nightmare as students are dead, a teacher has been blamed and the horrors continue.

"Something was going on with those kids last year, and it's carried over to today."


Pod casts, diary entries, a killer, and Rory Moore and Lane Phillips all rolled up in this book about murder, secrets, mysteries, questions, fear, and suspense. There is a lot going on in this book. There are many characters, several mysteries and subplots going on. I almost took out pen and paper to help me keep track of everything. Sometimes less is more.

But at the end of the day (or the end of the book, depending on how you want to look at it), I enjoyed this book. I really enjoy Rory and how she looks at the world and picks up on things that others miss. She is an intriguing character and I was happy to become reacquainted with her. But I wanted more of her and Lane. They are a great pair and an interesting duo; this is where more would have been better.

Donlea had a lot going on in this book and I believe that he is using this book as a stepping stone to his next book in this series (I am making an assumption/hoping/wishing/ putting it out into the universe that there will be another book).

I am always extremely excited when I see that Donlea has a new book out. I love his writing and how he brings his story-lines full circle. This one took a little bit of work. I would recommend that those who have not read Some Choose Darkness first. Because (a) It is Awesome (b) it introduces you to Rory and Lane and (c) it showcases Donlea's masterful storytelling and how he builds suspense. (d) it's the perfect segue into this book! Plus, Some Choose Darkness is mentioned several times in this book!

In this book, I felt there was too much going on but still enjoyed it and the resolution.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my first book by Charlie Donlea, and it won't be my last!

I really enjoyed the main storyline behind the "suicide house" deaths. The prep school atmosphere is well-developed, with its nuances, cliques, and policies adding layered conflict to an already-suspenseful tale. As Rory, Lane, and others endeavor to solve the mystery, a lot of moving parts make it a difficult one to sort out. The end did surprise me since so many viable perpetrators existed.

At times, I felt like there was almost too much going on--too many POVs, subplots, time periods, and characters--which made the book hard to follow. Also, while THE SUICIDE HOUSE is billed as a standalone, it's clear that Rory has appeared in a previous title as well. Overly detailed explanations of her hobby, while interesting, took me out of the action.

Overall, unique elements make this book stand out, and I recommend it to fans of the genre.

Secrets and murders, and ghosts!

For the most part, I enjoyed this murder mystery. It kept me engaged. My only complaint was with the ending which came together a bit too quickly and I had some remaining questions. I subtracted a star for that ending, but I suspect that most readers will appreciate the way things tied up. If you love good suspenseful thriller, you will enjoy this read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to receive this arc in exchange of an honest review.

“Veniam solum, relinquatis et” ‘Detective Ott said, his head craned back as he looked up at the building ‘Arrive alone, leave together.”

First off, how have I never read this author before! The Suicide House by Charlie Donlea introduced me to a whole cast of characters that are so richly portrayed and so intriguing, imagine my joy when I found out I could read more about their stories!

The Suicide House is a multifaceted story with a fairly large cast of characters yet I never felt confused or had to jump back to see who was who, for me, this is a wonderous thing! I love a story that plays out like a movie in my head, when each character is real and emotive with a story so vividly described that I become emotionally invested in both the characters and the story.

The plot is so tight and the twists so very twisty with red herrings that kept the story moving forward at a rapid pace. There was a grisly murder scene at Westmont Prep a year ago, supposedly an open shut case when the main suspect, a teacher, tried to commit suicide but the detective on the case, Detective Ott has never been quite satisfied with the case’s conclusion and when a popular podcaster decides to look into a rash of student suicides that occur at the prep school over the following year, Lane Phillips a famous forensic psychologist and criminal profiler along with his girlfriend Rory are invited to have a look. While I enjoyed all the characters, I absolutely loved Rory, a Forensic Reconstructionist with a slew of quirks that make her perfect for cold cases.

“Most people avoided confusion and chaos. Rory was drawn to it. The mysterious and unexplained intrigued her, and she could no more ignore them than a moth could resist a light source.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and will be reading more by Charlie Donlea in the future. A great big thank you to Kensington Books, Charlie Donlea & NetGalley for providing me with this DRC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the story here and the characters of Rory and Lane but I had a hard time getting past some of the writing. Things like repetitively mentioning how Rory has obsessions and deals with them, and not fully researching small details like saying one of the characters went to the University of New York. I'm from NY there's no such thing. How hard is it to find out about the SUNY system or used University at Buffalo or NYU. These are just two examples of when I felt let down by the writing.
But again I did like the story, the idea of a prep school with many secrets and a quirky detective duo.