Book Review: Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Confessions of a Murder Suspect
Teen Detective Series #1
Author: James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Mystery/Crime
Released: September 24th 2012
Review Source: Little, Brown and Company
Available: Amazon

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.

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?

James Patterson, one of the most well known authors, some how continues to produce amazing series. With the Maximum Ride, Daniel X, and Witch and Wizard series reaching millions of readers, it seems that maybe Mr. Patterson would take a break. Thankfully this is not the case with the renowned author's new novel Confessions of A Murder Suspect. Written with his extremely visual writing style, Patterson drifts away from his genre of fantasy and science fiction and goes to a more realistic mystery with a secondary author by the name of Maxine Paetro. The novel uses many dramatic twists and really portrays the emotional aspect of the book. The quest for perfection is highlighted to the extreme in this book!

In the novel we follow teenager Tandy Angel who awakens one night to find that her parents have been murdered. The murder seems almost impossible to commit from an outsider making Tandy and her brothers instant suspects. Now Tandy's parents were no ordinary parents. They just so happened to be extremely rich parents. Tandy and her siblings have led a highly cultured life, in where their parents control everything to achieve perfection. This control however, sadly turns each sibling into a type of sociopath which Tandy realizes makes them prime suspects. While dealing with the conflicting feelings of loss for her parents, Tandy does vow to find the killer and bring them to justice.

An emotional roller coaster, this novel thrives off of dramatic twists and surprises. As always Patterson does a wonderful job of composing his characters. My only wish for this new book of Patterson, is that would be longer, providing more back story. I feel it would have greatly enhanced the over story. Nevertheless, this is a great book, and will surely become a best-seller!