‘Gory, brutal, devastating, utterly addictive and yet so finely written. This deserves to be huge – and I think it will be. His best yet’ Louise Beech They were the perfect family. It was the perfect crime. The new gripping DCI Matilda Darke crime thriller about the dark secrets that lie within a perfect family. For fans of Patricia Gibney and Angela Marsons. It’s the most disturbing crime scene … the most disturbing crime scene DCI Matilda Darke has ever seen…
The morning after a wedding reception at a beautiful suburban home in Sheffield, the bride’s entire family are stabbed to death – in a frenzied attack more violent than anything DCI Matilda Darke could have imagined.
Forensics point to a burglar on the run across the country. But cracks are starting to appear in Matilda’s team, someone is playing games with the evidence – and the killer might be closer to home than they thought…
Praise for The Murder House:
‘Matilda Darke is Sheffield’s answer to Northumberland’s Vera and Wood’s stories are up there with the best. Fast-paced, crisp writing and a thoroughly enjoyable read’ David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child
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I’ve read and reviewed the previous four books in the Matilda Darke series and was looking forward to renewing her acquaintance in this latest episode. Well, the story certainly starts with a bang when three members of a family are brutally and savagely killed after a wedding reception.
But why were a young girl and her dog spared?
This and the sheer horror of the scene tested Matilda and her team as they began a difficult and challenging investigation. The issues affecting key team players like Sian, Scott and Rory ran parallel with the criminal investigation, adding to the pressure on Matilda. At one point, she claimed to know who the killer was, but this was never followed up in the ensuing chapters. It seemed to be forgotten, which puzzled me.
With the investigation progressing slowly, the personal issues sometimes seemed to take precedence until the team made a breakthrough. The investigation gathered pace. Matilda went out on a somewhat improbable limb, I thought, to solve the murders, but it lead to a pulsating and satisfying climax that ticked all the right boxes.
As with all the previous novels in the series, The Murder House was well written and entertaining. The many threads of the backstory put almost too many plates in the air, which influenced the overall balance of the story. I’m not really sure about the epilogue either, but as it concerned one of the running threads in the series, it didn’t impact on the main plot or my enjoyment.
If you haven’t read any of the books in the series, I would urge you to start with the first, For Reasons Unknown, (Read my review here) to get the most out of the characters and the stories. While you do that, I’m off to pre-order the sixth book in the series.
Can’t wait for the next book
This is a pacy police procedural that gets off to a heart-pounding start. The opening crime scene – a married couple and their son slaughtered in their home after their daughter’s wedding reception – is not for the squeamish, but it sets up an intriguing puzzle that continues throughout the novel: who had sufficient grievance against all three family members to unleash such violence against them?
The large cast of detectives is well managed, with glimpses into their private lives.
This is a series that’s hit its stride and has the thread of an unsolved case binding each book to the next. The epilogue of The Murder House suggests that this case may come to the fore in book six. I’m looking forward to it already.
4 stars
DCI Matilda Darke and her team are called to a horrific scene where nearly an entire family was literally butchered. It was a frenzied and vicious knife attack. They are stunned and extremely saddened and upset.
The home was the site of a reception for the daughter’s wedding the same day that the crime occurred. The daughter Leah and her new husband Oliver are on their honeymoon in Paris.
All the neighbors and (most of) the family’s friends called the Mercers the “perfect family.” Is this true? The parents, Clive and Serena, were both doctors and gave their time to charity and good causes. The son Jeremy and his seven-year old daughter Rachel were at the home. Jeremy was stabbed to death, while his daughter was tied to a chair and allowed to live. She is deeply traumatized.
A subplot line runs along side the main one. A young boy was kidnapped three years earlier. Matilda was unable to solve that case when the ransom drop went wrong. It haunts her, but it haunts the mother of the little boy even more. She just knows he is still alive. Matilda asks a friend of hers, a retired DI, to take the case. She does gladly and makes progress.
In the meantime, Matilda’s team learn that the Mercer family had secrets. Clive was brought up on charges with the hospital administration three times for seemingly unexplained deaths. He was cleared in all three cases. Oliver has a deeply hidden secret of his own, as does Leah.
A very likely suspect escapes from a nearby jail. A manhunt ensues, but Matilda is alone in thinking he may be innocent in spite of the forensic findings.
This is a very well written book save that the transitions are a little loose and jarring at times. It reads in a linear fashion; one event follows another in a logical progression. The cops are competent and I liked most of them. I was a little hesitant to like Matilda herself though. I am not sure why. It was exciting in places and I liked the use of language and dialog. It wasn’t overdone and the talking wasn’t rambling. There were bits of humor interspersed in the story and I liked that, too. This is only my second Matilda Darke novel and I liked it enough to look into the balance of the series that I have yet to read.
I want to thank NetGalley and One More Chapter for forwarding to me a copy of this good book for me to read, enjoy and review.
Following a wedding and reception, after the bride and groom leave for their honeymoon, when mom and dad and brother of the bride, and the brother’s daughter are left with all the cleanup, an intruder appears. They are all savagely murdered, except for the young girl who was only tied to a chair.
DCI Matilda Darke and her team have never seen such a horrendous crime scene. There are hundreds of fingerprints and blood is splatted everywhere. The girl did not see the attacker’s face.
By all accounts, this was a perfect family .. so who would want them all dead and in such a shockingly grisly way?
This is well written, with a plot that is nicely paced, with unforgettable characters. The action is non-stop and the suspense is palpable.
I have not read any of the previous books in this series, however, this one was easily read as a stand alone …. taking my own usual recommendation in starting at the beginning. I would really like to know more about these characters, especially Darke.
My only complaint would be that the young girl who is the nice of the bride was several times referred to as her sister. This was an easy enough mistake that should have been found quite easily. Dropped my rating by one star.
Many thanks to the author / One More Chapter / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Gory, brutal, devastating, utterly addictive and yet so finely written. This deserves to be huge — and I think it will be. His best yet.
Wow ! Michael Wood’s Matilda Drake books just keep getting better and better ; if thats possible.
Warning before you start this book, walk your dog because you wont want to put the book down.
Matilda Drake and her team are investigating a gruesome murder scene where several members of a family were butchered.
They appear to be the perfect family, but that can’t be !
One more page, one more chapter was my mantra. I had to find out the ending and what an ending it was.
Can’t wait for book 6 in the series ! First in line !!
Don’t miss out on this series!
Thanks to Net Galley and One More Chapter for allowing me into Maltida Drake’s world.
Thank you to Net Gallery for a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
4.5 Stars. I think I have found a new book series to follow! While I wished I had realized that this was part of a series, I had no issues catching on to what had happened to Melinda in past books. The Murder House is a fast paced thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. Enjoyed every minute of it.
Now on to reading the books that came before!