A killer, silent for ten years. Now he’s back.
Ten years ago, three teens were murdered at a summer party in sleepy little Meadowstown. One of their friends was convicted of the murders and has been in a mental hospital ever since.
But now items are turning up which could have only been taken from the victims on that fateful night. Is it possible there was more than one killer? Or has the wrong person been convicted?
Det Sergeant Jack Brody of the Major Crimes Investigation Unit is sent to investigate. And comes up against apathetic local police who are determined to resist his every move.
Brody isn’t easily deterred. He pushes hard and becomes convinced the murderer is still out there, is stirring back to life, preparing to choose another victim. Brody summons the rest of his team, and they race to find the killer before he or she can strike again.
But this little town has some very dark secrets, and as Brody begins to uncover the horrifying truth, he realises that no-one here is safe, that even he and his team may be in terrible danger…
The Devil’s House – the first in the gripping crime series featuring DS Jack Brody.
I’ll start by saying this: the book was good and definitely intriguing. DS Jack Brody was well-written, and the descriptions throughout were excellent.
While I don’t know much about Ireland (I’ve never been but hope to visit someday), the small-town dynamics and attitudes felt spot on. Having lived in rural areas and small towns, I can say the vibes and judgments in this book are very relatable. The way the geography is described makes it easy to picture in my mind, and the people feel like the kind of characters you could easily find in your own hometown. This added a layer of authenticity to the story that I really appreciated.
There was plenty of suspense and a good amount of suspicion, but I felt like there could’ve been more. Since this is the first book in a series, I’m hopeful that O’Rourke will build on this in the next instalment.
Author Bio.
Originally from Mayo in the west of Ireland, O’Rourke has spent much of his life living abroad—in the US, UK, Europe, Jersey in the Channel Islands, and various parts of Ireland. He describes his younger years as incredibly restless. Leaving home and school at 16 to explore the world, he’s tried his hand at many different jobs, from barman and labourer to staff newspaper reporter, soldier in the Irish army, station foreman with the London Underground, mason, and more. Eventually, he returned to education as a mature student in the 2000s, earning a BA in History and Sociology from the National University of Ireland at Maynooth, followed by an M.Phil in Creative Writing (First Class Honours with Distinction) from Trinity College Dublin.
Before turning to writing, O’Rourke worked as a civilian employee for An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force—which likely explains his detailed knowledge and authentic portrayal of the force in his work.
Writing under his birth name, Michael Scanlon, O’Rourke published his first crime novel in 2019 with Bookouture, marking the beginning of a trilogy.
The Devil’s House is his first police thriller with Inkubator Books.
I’d like to thank ZooLoo’s Book Tours who gave me the opportunity to read this book and provided me a digital copy for review purposes.
Morelli’s Reads 
Thank you so much for taking part in the tour and for sharing your review x
LikeLike