Review: The Suicide House by Charlie Donlea

Author: Charlie Donlea
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: July 2020

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. . . .

One year ago, two students were killed there in a grisly slaughter. The case has since become the focus of a hit podcast, The Suicide House. Though a teacher was convicted of the murders, mysteries and questions remain. The most urgent among them is why so many students who survived that horrific night have returned to the boarding house—to kill themselves.

Rory, an expert in reconstructing cold cases, is working on The Suicide House podcast with Lane, recreating the night of the killings in order to find answers that have eluded the school, the town, and the police. But the more they learn about the troubled students, the chillingly stoic culprit, and a dangerous game gone tragically wrong, the more convinced they become that something sinister is still happening. Inside Westmont Prep, the game hasn’t ended. It thrives on secrecy and silence. And for its players, there may be no way to win—or to survive. . . .

The Suicide House is the second book to feature Rory and her partner Lane. This time around, they are investigating what is really going on at Westmont Preparatory High.  Several students who were involved in a tragedy the year before have been committing suicide.  While it works fairly well as a stand alone, I think you would benefit from Some Choose Darkness, the first book.  It really gives the reader a sense of who Rory is and how her mind works and was shaped form childhood. Events from the first book are eluded to in this sequel but they actually don't reveal anything that would spoil the first one. 

I love how Rory's mind works through puzzles. She is such an interesting character. I also love her relationship with Lane. He really gets her and it's wonderful.  I found the mystery really interesting.  There were a lot of surprises that I didn't see coming. The story has some threads that don't seem to fit together, but it makes sense in the end.  This was an excellent sequel and I highly recommend it.