Confessions of a Murder Suspect

James Patterson returns to the genre that made him famous with a thrilling teen detective series about the mysterious and magnificently wealthy Angel family... and the dark secrets they're keeping from one another.

On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things: 1) She was the last person to see her parents alive. 2) The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings. 3) She can't trust anyone — maybe not even herself. Having grown up under Malcolm and Maud's intense perfectionist demands, no child comes away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to clear the family name, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous — and revealing — game. Who knows what the Angels are truly capable of?

"Bestsellers Patterson and Paetro, the team behind the Women's Murder Club series for adults, launch a YA mystery series with an implausible story with no moral center and multiple ludicrous plot twists. When the parents of four hypertalented children are murdered, emotionless 16-year-old Tandy; her musical prodigy twin, Harrison; angry 10-year-old Hugo; and 20-something NFL star Matthew become both suspects and detectives. Their abusive, manipulative parents are hardly sympathetic victims (they feed their children experimental pharmaceutical drugs and dole out draconian punishments), but the locked door to their New York City penthouse suggests that only the children — or their mother's live-in personal assistant — could be the killers. The intriguing setup loses cohesion amid bumbling cops (key scenes revolve around their inability to find evidence right in front of them), preposterous twists, inexplicable motivations (including characters who keep secrets for their own sake), and a final revelation that cements the police officers' incompetence. For writers with their crime-writing experience, Patterson and Paetro show little interest in common sense, motivation, or believable storytelling. Ages 12 – up. Agent: Robert Barnett, Williams & Connolly. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

James Patterson was selected by readers across America as the Children's Choice Book Awards Author of the Year in 2010. He is the internationally bestselling author of the highly praised Middle School books, Confessions of a Murder Suspect and the Maximum Ride, Witch & Wizard, Daniel X, and Alex Cross series. His books have sold over 230 million copies worldwide, making him one of the bestselling authors of all time. He lives in Florida.

Maxine Paetro has collaborated with James Patterson on the bestselling Women's Murder Club series and the Private series. She lives with her husband in New York State.