The House That Jack Built

By Ed McBain

Book Overview

The morning after Jonathan Parrish's fortieth birthday party, the guest of honor is found lying dead in a pool of his own blood. Police arrive at the scene to find his older brother, Ralph, covered in red and clutching the murder weapon.

From behind bars, Ralph insists he didn't do it. He claims he heard a scream from the other room, saw a man dressed in black running away, and rushed to pull the fatal blade from Jonathan's chest. But his explanations don't sway the Florida police, especially when several witnesses saw the brothers arguing about Jonathan's homosexual lifestyle the night before.

But attorney Matthew Hope believes Ralph--call it instinct, call it a hunch, Matt's law partner, Frank Summerville, calls it Matt's "code." But with Frank too distraught over his crumbling marriage to pitch in this time, Matthew enlists private eye Warren Chambers to help prove Ralph's innocence. And with few clues to go by, the duo will have to dig through a world of closet cases, secret trysts, and a community on edge to capture the real killer.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446601365
• ISBN13: 9780446601368
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Grand Central Pub
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.8" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

A good mystery with engaging characters

Jonathan Parrish is celebrating his 40th birthday, and joining his party attended mainly by Florida queens is his older brother Ralph Parrish, a wealthy Indianan farmer, who while not sharing his kid brothers lifestyle and preferences, loved him enough to buy him a beach house in the exclusive Whisper Keys, Calusa. But the brothers have a heated argument, and the following morning Jonathan is found dead, Ralph standing over the body covered in his brother's blood and with a knife in his hands. Ralph finds himself in gaol accused of murder; pleading his innocence he calls on the services of lawyer Matthew Hope to clear him. Matthew believes him, but how to prove it? There are no witnesses, all he has to go on is Ralph's claim that he saw a figure dressed in black escaping the scene. What follows is an intricate puzzle with the seemingly unlikely interweaving of the lives of individuals ranging from ex-convicts to the family owning of one of America's largest brewers. Well written and with convincing dialogue, what really makes this mystery, along with its sub-plot involving Matthew's business partner, is the characters. We are drawn to Matthew; to Warren the private detective he employs; Toots who aids Warren; even the bad guys we might feel at times, if only briefly, have some justification. With enough clues to keep us abreast of the investigations or guessing ahead, but not too many so that the conclusion is still a surprise, it all adds up to a most entertaining mystery.

Another great Matthew Hope Thriller

Ed McBain has a wonderful way of weaving a thriller around a nursery ryme. Each chapter moving along the poem and introducing the characters. It doesn't matter that the cow with the crumpled horn is an elderly woman' this adaptation of the ryme is brilliant. The story begins with Matthew Hope being hired to represented a farmer (who grew the corn) accused of murdering his brother. As always Matthew is convinced his client is innocent and sets out (with the help of PI Warren Chambers) to prove it. As is often the case there are a number of little side plots which mostly come together to solve the crime.