What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Read in UK school library 2010-2015. I think the cover was mostly black but unsure on this.

FMC goes back to hometown to find answers about her mother and sister's death.

She suspects that a man who her mother was seeing at the time killed her mum and sister. He was a children's entertainer and dressed up as a clown.

When the FMC returns to her hometown she befriends the guy who is now living in the house where the "murder" happened. They strike up a romance and she always insists on sleeping downstairs.

I believe she was raised by her aunt and aunt's boyfriend? The FMC has flashbacks to her upbringing throughout the story. I think it was her trying to make sense of what happened. She has flashbacks regarding the man her mum was seeing (the clown entertainer) and also has a flashback about her aunt visiting. I think that it begins to unravel that FMC's mother was struggling with her mental health.

Spoilers ahead:





At the end of the book the FMC eventually goes upstairs. I can't remember if it's to the room where the "murder" happened or the attic, but her old dollhouse that was in the room at the time of the murder is still in the house. She is looking through the dollhouse and looks behind the wallpaper in one of the dollhouse rooms (I don't remember if it's because she noticed anything different or maybe her and her mum used to leave notes in the dollhouse to eachother). She peels back the wallpaper to find a suicide note from her mum. The FMC has a flashback back to waking up in her bed and feeling something sticky on her neck, she realises it's blood. Her mum and sister are in the bed with her and already dead. She realises then that her mum killed herself, FMC's sister and tried, but failed, to kill FMC.

I'm realising that this was really dark to read as a young teen but my brain cannot rest until I find this book.

I know that it's not any of the dollhouse murders books.

Any help appreciated!!

The Dead House

Rainbowheart wrote: "The Dead House"

THAT'S IT!! Thank you so much!!

You're welcome, glad to help out!