The Red House by Roz Watkins was published by HQ on 22 June 2023. The ebook is currently 99p!
IT WAS THE CRIME THAT SHOCKED A NATION.
The Flowers were the perfect family. Until the day fifteen-year-old Joseph shot dead his parents and baby brother whilst his younger sister Eve hid. The family home became known as ‘The Red House’, the place where the walls were covered in blood.
THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD THE KILLER.
No one knows why Joseph murdered his family: the following day he crashed his car and has been in a coma for two decades. Eve’s always known he did it; she saw the crime, after all.
WHAT IF THEY WERE WRONG?
Now an adult, Eve is forced to re-examine her memories when disturbing new evidence about the case comes to light. Rumour has it that Joseph created a hidden level in his game that night, which might hold the key.
But if Joseph didn’t do it, then the killer’s still out there – and they’re coming back for the girl who escaped. . .
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The Red House is an intriguing and compelling mystery thriller. Eve is a believable and sympathetic character with quite a droll manner who has tried to build a life away from the brutal events of her childhood. The descriptions of the red house itself and surrounding swamp area brought to life the creepy location that I think I would certainly want to avoid.
The story itself is cleverly told between two timelines and multiple narrators and builds up first of all questions and then gradually answers about what happened the night Eve’s family died. Some of the situations and events described are heartbreaking and as the book progresses I found myself unsure who to feel sorry for and who to trust.
The story comes together well and although I felt there was a slight loss of pace in the middle part of the book, this is a minor quibble and the revelations build rapidly towards the shocking conclusion with twists-a-go-go at the end! I would recommend The Red House to all mystery thriller lovers. Thank you to the publisher for my copy of the book.
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