Thriller House: A Murder Mystery by K Patel

Title: Thriller House: A Murder Mystery

Author: K Patel

Publisher: Self-published

Genre: Murder Mystery, Psychological Thriller

First Publication: 2022

Language: English

Book Summary: Thriller House: A Murder Mystery by K Patel

The authorities have their eyes glued to the Thriller House as the owner, businessman Daniel McGavin, had ties with some of the US’ greatest adversaries.

The series of events in the mansion raised some concerns regarding the McGavin family and CIA Agent Carmela Hoggins. The Boston Police Department’s Detective Andy Vick is out to find answers, unaware that he could possibly have more questions than answers.

Book Review: Thriller House: A Murder Mystery by K Patel

“Thriller House: A Murder Mystery” is a cleverly crafted, superbly plotted, classic whodunnit mystery with a brilliant twist. Whodunit mysteries are all about the truth: nothing more, nothing less. Is it not fundamentally rewarding, in a world full of unknowns, to get to the very end of anything and find that every question you had has been answered? In many ways, the stories reflect what we see and hear in the real world. We are surrounded by ambiguities and tensions, which we spend the better part of our lives attempting to resolve. Most likely, we will be on our own deathbeds by the time we get to the point when everything clicks into place. Almost every mystery with a whodunit element gives this kind of satisfying resolution.

The story starts with a successful entrepreneur named Daniel McGavin who moves into a new mansion with his wife, Rachel, and two daughters, Nikola and Stephanie. Having connections to the Soviet Union made his life far from tranquil. Daniel McGavin, who had Russian ancestry, was the only child of David McGavin, a farmer, and Alicia McGavin, who was half American and half Russian and worked as a nurse for the Russian army during World War II. The CIA is aware of Daniel’s family history and suspects him of remaining in touch with former Soviet Union members.

After relocating to their mansion, the McGavin family received a gift from the people who know Daniel very well. The gift includes silver kitchen utensils, ceramic pots, a mirror, and other helpful items. Daniel pulled the huge, flat, convex mirror out of the box and hung it in Stephanie’s room. On the right-hand side of the mirror, he observed a little piece of tape labelled “test.” He didn’t pay attention to the note. Instead, he looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly got a very intense migraine.

Immediately after moving into the mansion, Daniel begins to suffer from regular migraines and hears voices in his head. Unable to sleep for many nights, Daniel was awakened by a voice saying, “Do it!” He sprang out of bed, grabbed his gun from the cabinet, and fired three rounds into Rachel’s skull while she was fast asleep. After that, he murdered both of his daughters by shooting them in the head. In what seemed to be a paranoid act, he attempts to murder himself with a piston gun but runs out of ammunition. As a result, he committed himself by hanging himself in the same room. Everyone in Daniel’s neighbourhood, the whole city, and the CIA spying on him were stunned by this. Nobody has ever seen anything quite like this in their whole lives. As a result, the McGavin estate became known as the “Thriller House.”

Years after the murder, the CIA was still interested in Daniel McGavin and the Thriller House event, which generated more questions than it answered. CIA Director Vince Fields called Carmela Hoggins for an assignment that required her to examine the Thriller House. In the 1970s, members of the Soviet Union were plotting a coup against the government of Russia. The CIA has reason to believe that Daniel McGavin may have been in possession of confidential papers that were generated by members of the Soviet Union. They need to find out if the papers are at the McGavin house, and if they are, they need to get them because they have important information.

Carmela and her team go to the McGavin estate to investigate. During her investigation into the mansion, she discovered a mirror with the word “test” inscribed on a little tape on the bottom. She sensed something unusual about this mirror, and something about it made her feel uneasy. She and her colleagues called it a day after thoroughly examining the mirror and finding nothing suspicious. Upon returning home, Carmela began to feel queasy, and her head began to ache violently, and she started to hear voices in her head. During one of her trips to the Thriller House, she saw the taped-up mirror one more time. Eventually, Carmela found herself convulsing in front of the mirror. Her eyes dilated and she acted as though someone else was controlling her before she stabbed herself to death.

The Boston Police Department has now turned their attention to investigating the Thriller House and the killing of Carmela Hoggins, and they’ve sent detective Andy Vick to investigate the crimes. Detective Andy Vick is on a mission to get answers, but he is completely oblivious to the possibility that he may have more questions than answers. I’m not going to give you any further plot details; you absolutely have to read it for yourself in order to fully appreciate the ingenuity to be revealed once you crack open this book.

Thriller House by K Patel is a superb and intelligent homage to the Golden Age of Crime and draws on the work of writers like Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe. It is structured to contain a story within a story. This means there is more than one mystery at play. The story is chock full of gory details, anagrams, parallels, and crafty twists. It is perfect for even the most jaded mystery reader, and will certainly keep you on your toes. The book is slightly short in length, and the story is very fast-paced and hard to put down.

Thriller House is a real page-turner and the way author K. Patel manages to weave the story together is really impressive; you will be left gasping but just as thrilled to be caught up in the mystery. The characters are very well-drawn, and the two mysteries contain plenty of suspects to keep you guessing. For a life-long fan of Christie-type mysteries, the first half is a beautiful, solid reproduction of an English manor mystery, and then we go back to the modern mystery. Highly recommended.