I would rate this book a 3.5 out of 5. The book had several plots to follow which made it a little difficult to follow at first. Eventually I was able to connect the plots to start predicting- which was never accurate. This story had many twists and the ending was unpredictable. I wish I knew this Rory and Lane friendship was developed before this novel. I will definitely read the first book and the rest to come.

I loved the way a popular podcast was a major part of the story. I also loved the boarding school setting which was perfect for murder and a secret society. This is a great mystery that will hold your attention as the mystery unfolds. Thank you NetGalley for my ARC.

Charlie Donlea does it again, as always. I was glad to have read Some Choose Darkness first because it gave me insight into Rory. But at the end, I saw that two of his other books that I have waiting on my nightstand also give glimpses into Suicide House, Summit Lake and Don't Believe It. I may need to read those sooner than I was intending to now!

Donlea has a style that pulls you in immediately and never let's go. But add to it the mystery of a boarding school murder and the suicides of those who survived it, and I'm hooked. I loved the little snippets of the journal entries and the other character's lives because they kept me guessing on who was who and who was ultimately responsible. I was constantly changing my mind on who was behind the journal entries!

I loved the mythicalness of The Man in the Mirror and how kids can get caught up in those beliefs. Yet, even though they were following a ghost story in their game, there was nothing unworldly happening in the book. It gave it that that adult spin on the child's game, while still keeping you guessing if there was a bit of truth to their game and someone far more sinister behind the beliefs, wanting to be The Man in the Mirror.

I absolutely loved this one and highly recommend any of his books!

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This was a good story. I read it in two days and was intrigued by the mystery. However, it was really repetitive and I found myself skimming paragraphs at least once per chapter. I did learn more about restoring porcelain dolls than I expected. My only other problem was that the names were so similar that it got confusing - Mack and Mark, Ryder and Rory, Gavin and Gwen - I found it took me out of the story. I would still read other books by this author - this appears to be one in a series, but not having read the others did not negatively impact the story. I did like the Ryder and Rory characters and would read more about them.

3.5 stars, rounded up
The Suicide House brings back the team of Rory Moore and Lane Phillips. Rory is a forensic reconstructionist and Lane is a psychological profiler. For this plot, they undertake an investigation into the gruesome murders of two students at a prestigious boarding school which leads to the subsequent suicides of four others.
The school seemed odd from the get go. It requires therapy for all their students, not just the ones with serious issues. Part of that therapy is journal writing, which figures into the plot.
The book goes back and forth between current day and one year earlier, in the time leading up to the murder. Short choppy chapters keep the reader off balance. It started off slower than his other books and it took longer to draw me in. Donlea throws lots of red herrings into the mix to keep us confused. I was definitely up in the air as to who was behind the murders. But I also felt that the story was forced, that there were too many red herrings.
Rory, who is on the spectrum, is an interesting, complex character. She continues to remind me of Genevieve Lenard, Estelle Ryan’s MC. I recommend her books to those who enjoy Donlea and vice versa.

A boarding school with a mysterious murder. The accused murderer kills himself in front of a train and the friends of those killed slowly begin to do kill themselves as well. The local cops believe the case is closed, but some think things are a little suspicious. Rory and Lane need to use their unique skills to solve the mystery. What is going on at this boarding school.

This was a fun read! It was like Cold Case and Criminal Minds rolled up into a book. I love Rory so much and now I feel that I need to read the others by this author. The story went back and forth between a lot of characters. At first I struggled a little at keeping them straight, but once I remembered who was who, it was fun. It went back and forth between a year ago when the murders took place and the present. The reader learns the events that lead up to it, but it doesn't make a lot of sense at first. It all comes together in the end and it was... woah! There was a part where I kept trying to close my eyes, like a would in a movie, but it's hard to read with my eyes closed. I recommend this book for mystery/thriller fans.

I loved The Suicide House by Charlie Donlea. It is a great psychological thriller with lots of dark and twisty turns. This is the second book that features Rory Moore but can be read as a stand alone. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone who loves a good mystery and thrillers. Thank you Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was lucky enough to win a digital galley of THE SUICIDE HOUSE from a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thanks for the early look, and have a safe summer!

3.5 stars

In this 2nd book in the 'Rory Moore/Lane Phillips' series, the criminalists look into deaths at a private school. The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

Classy 'Westmont Preparatory High School' in Peppermill, Indiana used to pride itself on graduating ALL its students and sending them on to good colleges. Then starting on June 21, 2019, a string of tragedies ruined the school's statistics. Two students were murdered on that summer solstice night, and - in the subsequent year - two more students committed suicide.

The institute's losses were the media's gain. Crime blogger Ryder Hillier has a blog devoted to the Westmont deaths, and television newsmagazine host Mack Carter has a podcast, called The Suicide House, about the incidents.

Mack Carter leases a house near Westmont Prep, and in the summer of 2020 hires Chicago forensic psychologist/criminal profiler Lane Phillips to contribute to future episodes of the podcast. Lane rents a cottage in Peppermill and cajoles his girlfriend, forensic reconstructionist Rory Moore, to follow him a couple of days later.

Lane specializes in psychotic killers and Rory is a cold case expert, so they're good 'gets' for The Suicide House podcast.

Up to this point the blog and podcast covered the following: Two students named Andrew Gross and Tanner Landing were brutally killed in an abandoned house on the edge of the Westmont campus on June 21, 2019. A few days later the prime suspect, a chemistry teacher called Charles Gorman, threw himself in front of a train near the abandoned house, and is now a vegetable. In the following months, two friends of the dead boys, Bridget Matthews and Danielle Landry, also threw themselves in front of trains, and died.

It turns out that Westmont Prep has a secret club, called 'The Man in the Mirror', that meets at the abandoned house. Each year the club extends invitations to a few juniors, who must perform harrowing challenges to become members. All the dead students were associated with The Man in the Mirror, and - as the story unfolds - more deaths follow.

Lane and Rory make it their mission to unravel all the mysteries at Westmont Prep, and endanger themselves in the process.

The book is very complex, with several subplots. Moreover, the story skips back and forth between the summer of 2019 and the summer of 2020. Thus there's a lot to follow, but once I got into the rhythm I was able to keep up.

A strong point of the book is the wide array of characters, including students; faculty; administrators; parents; journalists; police; and more. The best character is forensic reconstructionist Rory Moore, a woman on the autism spectrum whose favorite beverage is Dark Lord beer.

Rory has trouble making eye contact and is most comfortable wearing a beanie hat; big glasses; and Madden Girl Eloisee combat boots. Rory also has OCD, which she controls by restoring damaged antique dolls. In this book Rory reconstructs an Armand Marseille Kiddiejoy German baby doll, and the scenes of Rory working on the doll are instructive and interesting.

I won't give away plot secrets but I will say that Charlie Donlea is a master of misdirection and twists. For me the plot is a bit overly contrived, but I enjoyed the book and recommend it to fans of suspense novels.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Charlie Donlea), and the publisher (Kensington Publishing) for a copy of the book.

This is the first time I read a book by this author. I loved this book and the setting was eerie. There was a lot of suspence added to this book as well as chilling elements surrounding the location and the characters. I was unaware that this was a sequel until I started looking into this authors other books. The fact that this was a sequel did not effect my reading of this at all. I am definitely going to go back and read the other books written by this author.

I have to say, I am hooked on these Rory/Lane novels. This is the second book in the series, and I wasn’t sure if it could compete but I was blown away.

I was going through the book and thought, oh this is too obvious, I’ve got it figured out already. I was very, very wrong. I 100% did not see that twist coming! I had previously read one of the author’s other books outside this series but now I am really looking forward to reading other works by this author.

This is my first book by Charilie Donlea. The cover is what drew me first and then the title.

“The Suicide House" is a podcast that focuses on the grisly murders of two students at an elite prep school, where the "secret" society is a known secret. It is a 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 lives on.

There is a lot going on in this book. There are many characters, several mysteries and subplots going on. I felt like I read three different books at the same time. Maybe if it would be a book about the campus murders and podcast host’s killing case solved by crime blogger Ryder Hillier, it would be easier for me to concentrate. But there is also Gus’s cold case story connects with the murders and another missing person’s case. There are so many questions to answer, so many POVs to read and too many characters to connect! Rory Moore hasn’t been involved in the case until the second half of the book. So many times I missed her and Lane because the other characters’ POVS and stories made me question if this was a sequel of my favorite characters or if they turned into supportive characters of the story, make cameos like Gus.

I think the author’s intention was to prepare us for the next books and introducing the new characters. And she wants to connect her main characters from the other books to bring out new cases and new stories.

The second in the Moore/Phillips series, unfortunately for me not as enjoyable as the first.
I think this is my third Donlea book and I loved the other three. This one not so much.

Set in a boarding school where there is a secret club that everyone wants to be a part of. There is initiation into the club twice a year for those who pass but on the night in question here some students are murdered while the survivors cant seem to cope and commit suicide.

One of the teachers is accused of the killings and the evidence is very strong but he too takes his own life before he can be brought to trial.

A year later and Lane Phillips finds himself in the town as an advisor. Asked to appear on the no 1 podcast about the event, it has a huge following and all sorts of conspiracy theories to go with it.
Rory follows him down as a surprise and both get wrapped up in the case as new evidence starts to come to light.

As I said, this is my least favourite Donlea novel I have read so far. The saving grace is that the two main characters are really strong characters(as in the first book)and are great and interesting to spend time with.

Unfortunately a lot of the time is not spent with them but in flashback to the night of the event and to be honest it just got a little boring and convoluted. The student and teacher characters were not nearly as interesting as our main pair and you had little empathy with them. It also felt like an age to flesh the story out.

Its not a bad book but its not a particularly good one either. The two stars of this series are Moore and Phillips and they get lost somewhat in the story and the effort to tell the tale which, if Im honest is a little silly and convoluted.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Charlie Donlea and Kensington books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love stories about boarding schools, or girls going to boarding schools.. there is always so much drama brought up in stories like this.. So with that being said I really did enjoy this book. Everyone loves a good scandal in his book was filled with Scandal rumors and things being brought up from the past.

Some Choose Darkness was the first Charlie Donlea book that I read. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found that The Suicide House brings back 2 characters from that book. But you do not need to have read it to enjoy Suicide House. Again Donlea has given us a book full of twists and drama. I read this in 2 sittings and couldn’t get enough.

Suicide House is a podcast that has true crime fans excited. Just over a year ago 2 students were brutally murdered on the grounds of Westmont Prep School. A teacher was charged with the murders but why are other students who were involved on the night returning to the scene and killing themselves? And there are some that do not believe that the teacher was the murderer. Forensic Reconstructionist Rory Moore and her partner Lane Phillips get involved and early on it is clear that someone doesn’t want the case to be investigated.

Another fantastic book from Charlie Donlea. Thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.

Heart-chilling abandoned places need no words.

Charlie Donlea is venturing into the deep and the dark in this one. The Suicide House is far more than the usual "Who dun it?" that Donlea has showcased in the past. This one drifts off into minds filled with scurrying head spiders. Gave me a web-infested feeling throughout.

The stately Westmont Prep School juts out from behind tall trees. It's been renowned for almost 80 years for turning out the best in its students here in Peppermill, Indiana. But a shadow will be eclipsing this fine school this semester. Not from an over-zealous moon. More like tragedy and death.

Mack Carter has heard all the buzz about Westmont Prep. The horrific events have been like pouring gasoline while setting his podcast on fire. His fan base keeps growing and growing as they can't get enough chatter about what happened but with no "why" in sight. But there's some resentment from Ryder Hillier, researcher/journalist, who as a true crime blog on just this topic. It seems like Mack is grabbing Ryder's info for his own podcast.

With three deaths surrounding the abandoned teachers' boarding house in the overgrown acreage of Westmont Prep, highly professional help is needed. Lane Phillips, forensic psychologist, and Rory Moore have been sent in from Chicago. Rory is a forensic reconstructionist. Bordering on the autistic spectrum, Rory has an uncanny talent for seeing what others never will. She is an ace when it comes to cold cases. But will this be a chase down a dark rabbit hole for even these two?

The Suicide House has earmarkings of the stellar writing talent of Charlie Donlea. I've read every novel of his and clamor for more. But this one ranked at a 3.5 kicked up to 4 stars. It is evident that there is an abundance of research, time, and effort into this one. But The Suicide House bogged down at times with the weight of too many characters to keep track of and too many flips between passages. I think a more linear storyline with Lane and Rory at the helm would have been the way to go. Donlea shows that he can set up a bucketful of horror with a Stephen King vibe. Next time, I'd like to see more of those Madden Girl boots from our fav, Rory.

I received a copy of The Suicide House through NetGalley for an honest reivew. My thanks to Kensington Books and to the talented Charlie Donlea for the opportunity.

3.5 stars. I vaguely remembered the main characters from this authors previous book, but not in detail, as I felt I was expected to to truly appreciate them. Like the authors last book, I also felt the narration changed too many times to be able to closely track the story. But aside from those points, I really enjoyed it - even couldn’t put it down. Awesome characters, their crucifying features well hidden until the end, and unique storyline. Will continue to look forward to new works from this author!

Charlie Donlea has yet to disappoint me as an author. He’s one of my favorite go to authors. I enjoyed the Suicide house and all its twists and turns. It wasn’t as great as my absolute favorite of his books that is called “Don’t believe it”. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

I was excited to read this one because the story line sounded really good. But once getting into the book and all the characters thrown into your face all at once was a little much. Plus there is multiple stories happening all at the same time. It just seems like to much for one book. Also one thing that was super annoying is how similar the names were Rory, Ryder, Marc, Mack, Gavin and Gwin just made things confusing as at times. So many names to pick from. This was a very slow burn for me.

I did enjoy Rory's character and could see a series just about her. The twist was great becausei suspected someone else being the killer.

Thank you Netgalleyfor allowing me to read this!!

Charlie Donlea has another winner with The Suicide House. Mr Donlea takes the reader back and forth in time as we try to figure out today what actually happened last year. He merges the two flawlessly and also gives us some edge of the seat moments. I want to thank Net Galley and Kensington Books for an early copy to review.