By Ana Thomas

Sometimes reading forces you to confront and assess your own morals. Rooting for justice became tricky as I fell in love with James Patterson and David Ellis’ cast in Murder House. As the overdue mystery of South Hampton’s serial killer is linked to a middle school shooting that took place 15 years earlier on Halloween of 1995, Jenna Murphy emerges as a heroine that duals as a victim of corruption. As Murphy navigates her career in the New York Police Department, she perseveres in ways that I could only relate to in nightmares. Patterson and Ellis unfold the societal and political intricacies in a beachy and diverse small town setting by luring their readers through an enticing and violent edition of a family cursed. Readers and tourists alike may let their guard down, but rest assured there are villains and authors out there who will keep you on your toes.

My casual naps on the beach will definitely be more exhilarating after this read. A young, ambitious and talented cop navigates her loyalty to a force dominated by men. Her curiosity and stubbornness lead her down a sandy path that challenges the legal system again and again. Ultimately, her drive to find the truth in her past and present forces everyone to pay attention and disrupts the mysterious efforts made to keep buried matters buried. However, no one is ready for the bag of disturbing truths that must be unearthed. Leaving a legacy that lives beyond our numbered years is something many of us strive for, but could it also be rather noble to find that your legacy is damned and decide there’s nothing you can do but destroy it yourself? We each have the right to create a pattern of generational wealth and alter the trajectory of our families. Do we also have the right to decide that generational wealth is no longer a worthy price to pay?

Patterson and Ellis’ plot had me hooked the entire way through and I 10/10 recommend!

I would ask the authors… do you believe that its possible men are more susceptible to corruption and is it possible that we see it more often because men hold positions of power more often? And based on your ending, do believe you could find justice in destruction?

Thank you to my dear friend, Lara, for lending me your copy of Murder House.