The Devil's House by J.M O'Rourke

The Devil’s House by J.M O’Rourke

Release: 28 October 2022
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Source: Zooloos Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon __

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.

About the Author:

I hail from Mayo in the west of Ireland, although I spent much of my life away. I was in the US, UK, Europe, Jersey in the Channel Islands and various parts of Ireland. In my younger years I was incredibly restless.

I left home and school at 16 and spread my wings. I’ve had over forty jobs, everything from barman, labourer, staff newspaper reporter, soldier in the Irish army, station foreman with London Underground, mason, and many more besides. I returned to education as a mature student in the early noughties and hold a BA in history and sociology from the National University of Ireland at Maynooth, and an M.Phil in creative writing (first class honours with distinction) from Trinity College Dublin.

Since 2005 I’ve been a civilian employee of the Irish police, An Garda Síochána. However, I’ve been on extended sick leave since 2015 following a mystery illness which struck while travelling in Spain. It almost killed me. The doctors never got to the bottom of it and they call me the Mystery Man. But every cloud has a silver lining. It has given me the time to write. Although I’ve been writing all my life, most of my output languishes in the bottom of drawers.

Under my real name, Michael Scanlon, I was published for the first time in 2019 by Bookouture with the first of three crime novels. Working with Inkubator is a great opportunity because I think I’ve learned something since becoming published and I want to put it into practice. It is a new departure and I have adopted a pseudonym because the books are so different. I hope readers like them.

The Devil’s House is his first police thriller with Inkubator Books.

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The Devil’s House Review:

The story’s premise starts strong when we see evidence from an old murder case years ago showing up to the victims’ families. Brody shines in the lead as the Detective in charge of the case as he tries to figure out why things are starting now. The reason I enjoyed this book was because of the thorough analysis that the team conducts. Each chapter covers a different angle they look for, and I was fascinated at how comprehensive and detailed the author made the story like I was reading a proper case file of investigations.

Moreover, Patton gave me the creeps. He is like the perfect squirmy, cowardly antagonist who feels threatened when Brody enters his territory. I was also keen to know what hold he had on Kinsella. There is also a side story of a man attacking women, which blends well with the plot.

Speaking of Kinsella, I enjoyed Brody and her scenes together. They share a beautiful friendship and professional camaraderie, and I’m happy that the author did not stray into the plot of the two of them together. Even the supporting cast, like Voyle and Considine, was memorable. I particularly enjoyed Harry because he spiced up the story with his eccentric behavior.

The only downside to the tale was how there were many characters on canvas. Moreover, the characters are often referred to by their first or last name, so I had to know their full names to know who a person was referencing. It would have been nice if the references to the cast were consistent.

Besides that, “The Devil’s House” was a solid start to the Detective Jack Brody series, and I can’t wait to read the continuation.