Finally, international bestselling author James Patterson collaborated with Maxine Paetro and released the long-awaited new book, “Confessions of a Murder Suspect.” And I have to say, as a Patterson fan, his new book may spark the interest of “Maximum Ride” fans.

After reading the free sample released earlier on, I could not wait to finish the whole book. I had to keep guessing throughout, and the results were unexpected.

When the parents of four exceedingly talented children are suddenly found dead, all fingers point to them. To bring justice to the Angel name, emotionless and calculating Tandy Angel, musically and artistically gifted Harry Angel, head-and-body strong Hugo Angel and all-star athlete Matthew Angel take it upon themselves to investigate their parents sudden death while also maintaining the status of a suspect.
Their parents, Malcolm and Maud Angel, strive for perfection from their children. They accepted nothing less. This is way beyond extreme parenting.

As Tandy discovers more of her parents’ secrets, her memories and family secrets are revealed and most of them leave readers perplexed.
Does this sound familiar to “Maximum Ride” fans? Instead of saving the world, these characters are here to solve the death of their parents while also discovering the secrets that are kept inside the family. Can Tandy trust her family? Can Tandy trust herself? There are so many ‘what ifs’ going in the book that readers have to ask their own questions.

Each Angel child could have easily murdered their parents because each child had a grudge against their parents that cannot be simply forgotten. Would you forgive your parents if they demanded for perfection and punished you for the simplest mistakes?

What if Tandy murdered her own parents for the sake of revenge? What if the murderer is her own flesh-and-blood?

As a Patterson fan, this book satisfied my craving for a science fiction and mystery thrill. The tension keeps rising as Tandy gets closer to unveiling the murderer.
The book is written in Tandy’s perspective, so we get a sense of her psychological changes. Tandy shows more emotion, like a normal teenage girl should. She questions herself and her own alibi, while more of her memories are revealed. They will shock you with disbelief and raise eyebrows.

Hey, nobody’s perfect. There are times when you do stupid things that need to be kept hidden even from yourself. I’m just not sure if Tandy should reveal her hidden past.

Unfortunately, the ending was not what I expected. I wanted more drama or even a sudden turn that points to another suspect. All I got was a sudden stop to the murder case and all is well.

Even if this book has ended, there are still cases that Tandy needs to investigate. And I am not going to reveal them. Hello! Spoiler Alert! Revealing these cases would ruin the whole point of a sequel.

Anyway, the new excitement that Patterson gives his readers leaves them craving for more. The questions asked and answered will leave you perplexed. New mysteries will be answered and more cases will be solved by the Angel family.

By: Abbie Gail Lim