TELL ME THE TRUTH

Murder turns a pitiless spotlight on yet another perfect suburban family.

Noel Moore knows that the story he tells investigator Susan Adler of the New York State Police, about coming home from a business trip in Florida to be greeted by his wife Mindy’s horrified discovery of the dead body of their daughter, Jennifer, stabbed to death in the woods behind their house, is full of lies. So does Noel and Mindy’s 13-year-old son, Charlie, who considers himself personally responsible for the death of his sister just weeks before she was to leave for Duke University. Mindy, at first hysterical, then sedated, is unable to be questioned for days, but if she could talk, and if the family’s bulldog attorney, Charlotte Walsh, allowed her to talk, she’d probably lie her head off, too. Forensics specialist Liam Dwyer, who’s worked with Susan before, confides in her: “Something’s not right. I can feel it. That family is off.” He doesn’t know the half of it. Before the final twist, the investigation will have blackened the reputations of Jen’s ex-boyfriend; Charlie’s best friend, who “was obsessed” with Jen; Mindy’s deeply religious sister; her pastor; and every member of Jen’s immediate family. The results are schematic—you can almost count the pages till the next shift to a new suspect—but undeniably effective.

If all these layers of fathomless domestic intrigue sound unbelievable, well, count your blessings.