Confessions of a Murder Suspect

Patterson, James and Maxine Paetro.Confessions of a Murder Suspect
24 September 2012, Little, Brown and Co.

Tandy and her brothers Harry, Hugo and Matt aren't overly fond of their parents, the powerful and wealthy Malcom and Maude Angel, but they don't want to kill them. Someone has, however, in the middle of the night while the apartment was locked. All of the Angel children are supersmart and have other amazing capabilities, so the police suspicion immediately turns to them. The fact that they have a lavish lifestyle but controlling, demanding parents doesn't look good either, and when further incriminating events occur (Matt's movie star girlfriend claims to be pregnant by Malcolm, Tandy realizes the vitamins they have been taking might be more than that), it looks even worse. Tandy does her best to investigate while dealing with the aftermath of her parents' death. Will the real story surface before one of the children end up in jail.
Strengths: Certainly a quick, thrilling read. Big book, but lots of white space, short chapters, lots of titillating but not totally inappropriate events. Patterson knows how to create a story and real readers in. Murder stories for middle schoolers-- it's what they want.
Weaknesses: A lot of weird side stories that didn't make a lot of sense, but made me think this will be a series. Tandy wasn't very likeable, and the whole family was exceptionally weird. The ending might be a bit much for younger students, but okay for 7th and 8th graders who are allowed to watch all the CSI shows.