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A review by sarahannkateri
Confessions of a Murder Suspect by Maxine Paetro, James Patterson
2.0
I've always avoided reading anything by Patterson on basis of principle (I don't like his sweatshop writing model) but my HS book group wanted a murder mystery, so I finally had to read one of his books. I don't think I was missing much.
Maude and Malcom Angel had it all: ridiculous amounts of money, the most prestigious address in New York, and 4 children whose talents were world-renowned. But when Maude and Malcom are found dead in their bedroom, it seems like one of those children might have a more sinister talent...A talent for MURDER.
Okay, that was deliberately cheesy, because I felt like this whole book was super cheesy. The cops were caricatures, and some of the siblings -Hugo in particular- were laughably ridiculous. But the biggest problem for me was how unrealistic everything was. I could take the subplot about drugs giving kids almost supernatural abilities with a grain of salt, but having the police repeatedly interrogate minors without any guardian present? I don't have a degree in Criminal Justice, but I'm pretttttty sure any confession or evidence obtained when a cop was intimidating a 16-year-old and telling them they were a suspect would get thrown. the hell. out.
The mystery aspect was decent, with plenty of suspects to keep the reader guessing, I liked Tandy's meta discussion about unreliable narrators, and the end made me think that the sequel will probably be better than this one, but I don't think I'll be reading anymore Patterson.
Maude and Malcom Angel had it all: ridiculous amounts of money, the most prestigious address in New York, and 4 children whose talents were world-renowned. But when Maude and Malcom are found dead in their bedroom, it seems like one of those children might have a more sinister talent...A talent for MURDER.
Okay, that was deliberately cheesy, because I felt like this whole book was super cheesy. The cops were caricatures, and some of the siblings -Hugo in particular- were laughably ridiculous. But the biggest problem for me was how unrealistic everything was. I could take the subplot about drugs giving kids almost supernatural abilities with a grain of salt, but having the police repeatedly interrogate minors without any guardian present? I don't have a degree in Criminal Justice, but I'm pretttttty sure any confession or evidence obtained when a cop was intimidating a 16-year-old and telling them they were a suspect would get thrown. the hell. out.
The mystery aspect was decent, with plenty of suspects to keep the reader guessing, I liked Tandy's meta discussion about unreliable narrators, and the end made me think that the sequel will probably be better than this one, but I don't think I'll be reading anymore Patterson.