"House Rules" by Jodi Picoult

The first time I saw "House Rules" on display, I instantly felt the urge to buy it. The cover of the book was brightly coloured with a mixture of yellow, red and some blue. Like many of other Picoult's works, "House Rules" revolves around a family. Only this time, one of the family members have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Jacob is a highly intelligent boy equipped with knowledge of crime/ crime scenes. Maths is his favourite subject at school. Like any other teen or person with Asperger's he is hopeless when it comes to reading social cues and often refuses eye contact when talking to people.

So, Jacob's mum sends him to social skills class under the guidance of Jess. Jess, in Jacob's opinion is a very nice lady whom he hoped had the same feelings or impression for him. But then, it turns out that Jess already has someone seeing her who hates Jacob's constant awkward behaviour.

Then, one day, Jess goes missing, all of a sudden. Police found her body and began to take Jacob's awkward behaviour as signs that he might be linked to case. What's more, he knows so much about crime scenes from watching CrimeBusters every day at 4.30 pm, without fail. If he didn't he would get very agitated.

Police had another suspect in mind: Jess' boyfriend. Then again, he said he had nothing to do with it.

Jacob's mum grew worried and called the police when she saw his qult on one of the footages on TV. When approached by his mum however, he repeatedly said that he didn't murder Jess.

It was Jacob's brother's birthday: Theo when Picoult finally uncovers the mystery behind Jess' death.

Those who are all too familiar with the way Picoult writes and ends her books should expect similar endings. Otherwise, it would be a brilliant book.