It is the most disturbing crime scene Sheffield police have ever seen: three persons have literally been slaughtered at home. The morning after the wedding reception of their daughter Leah, Clive and Serena Mercer as well as their son Jeremy are attacked and brutally killed, only Jeremy’s daughter is spared, but she had to witness the crime. When DCI Matilda Darke and her team start the investigation, they soon realise that this case will not be easy to solve, apparently everybody loved the family of well-respected and highly admired doctors. There simply seems to be nobody with a motive and especially nobody to commit such a crime. Yet, forensics come up with an ID: Keith Lumb, arrested several times for petty burglary, left traces at the house, but could this man really be capable of a triple killing? And why should he do this?

Michael Wood’s thriller “The Murder House” is a real page-turner. Once you start reading, the story doesn’t let go anymore and you keep on reading. The case is quite complex and the author brilliantly laid some wrong leads to keep you in the dark for a long time. In the end, however, it all makes sense and the pieces fall perfectly into place. A second plot line about a missing boy shifts focus at times, but also provides some suspense and is quite interesting from a psychological point of view.

Apart from the murder investigation, I liked the characters in the novel who seem quite authentic in the way they are presented and how they cope with the high demand of their job. They show different facets of their personality and all of them have their very own demons they have to fight with. However, they can also laugh and support each other, what I totally adored.

An exciting thriller with a lot of suspense and a carefully crafted plot which leaves nothing else to wish for. ( )

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have read each of the previous instalments in this series, so I am not sure how well this would stand on its own. The Carl Meagan storyline (which I had so hoped would be resolved here) continues on in the background. Matilda herself is now thankfully back on her feet health wise.

The murders in this instalment were gruesome (and this was reiterated over and over), but thankfully all in the past when the story opened. I thought the plot was excellent for the first two-thirds or so, but after that it got a little unbelievable in places. There was an entirely unnecessary scene between Oliver and Scott, and then Scott was allowed to sit in on an interview of Oliver the next morning. Clearly the final chapters would never have been allowed to happen in any police force in the known universe, but they were quite exciting, I suppose.

I assume this will be picked up before the book goes to print, but the first third of it has Rachel and Leah sometimes as sisters (how biblical!) and in other places (correctly) as niece and aunt.

Very enjoyable and a page turner. ( )