The neglected
multi-million-dollar beach front estate in the Hamptons at 7 Ocean Drive has
been dubbed the Murder House due to numerous gruesome murders that have
occurred there over the years. The Dahlquist
family who built the mansion is responsible for some of the murders as each generation
produced a rapist and murderer always named Holden. Finally Holden VI intends to end this family
horror by not procreating and committing suicide… but the murders continue.
Jenna Rose is a NYPD cop who is
forced out of her job in Manhattan and is hired by her Uncle Lang who heads the
Southampton Town Police Department. As a child, Jenna’s family often visited the
Hamptons but abruptly stopped their visits when she was eight years old. She knew some violent event had happened to
keep her parents away but Jenna had suppressed that memory. Now with her parents both deceased, her uncle
is her closest living relative and offers her a job to save her career as a
cop. She no sooner arrives when a
Hollywood power broker and his mistress are found dead in the Murder
House. Evidence points to a local
handyman, Noah Walker as the lead suspect.
As his trial begins, the police chief, Jenna’s uncle and lead witness
for the prosecution is murdered. Noah
Walker is ultimately sent to prison but Jenna continues to investigate and
becomes convinced Noah is innocent. Her
testimony frees Noah but the murders continue.
The new police chief bands her from the murder investigations and he
fires her for disobeying his orders. But
with the killer still at large, Jenna needs to solve this case for her own
peace of mind. She finds out what really
happened to her as a eight year old and who saved her and becomes convinced one
more Dahlquist generation is involved.
But who is it and can she find out before he kills her?
Murder House is a very good mystery, thriller. The plot is complex with plenty of twists and
turns and offers several convincing choices for the ‘who done it.’ But I found I didn’t particularly like the
protagonist, Jenna. First, I found it
odd she could not remember a traumatic event as an eight year old. Second, I found her a little too impulsive, a
little too quick to draw conclusions and act based on limited evidence at
hand. Finally, she always haled from a
position of moral high ground that I never felt like she earned…. perhaps a
little better character development would have helped.
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