Devil House by John Darnielle

 

Gage Chandler is a true crime writer.  His method, which has been very successful, is to totally immerse himself in the world of the crime, doing extensive research and getting information not available to most people.  His latest project is that of the murders of a real estate agent and a prospective buyer in the 1980's.  

The case was briefly famous because of the condition of the building where it occurred and the satanic craze sweeping the nation.  The building had most recently been a porn store and when the owner quit the business, he left everything there.  His teenage assistant still had keys and started spending time there along with his friends.  They decorated the house with satanic themed rooms from their favorite horror movies.  When the murders occurred those decorations fed into a narrative of teenage satanic cults.  But the town didn't want the notoriety so when the case wasn't quickly solved it was swept under the rug.  

Gage buys the building which has been turned into a house ready to participate in a neighborhood that is about to come up in the world.  As he delves deeper and deeper into the crime, he realizes that no one really knows what happened although he has his ideas.  Is he right?

John Darnielle is an interesting author.  His prior book Wolf In White Van was a study of a child predator.  He explores the darker side of human nature and finds the human touchstones that even those involved in evil still retain.  In this novel he gets the teenage alienation that leads to random destruction.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.