In her second book, McNeil takes 10 teens on vacation for three days and upsets everything by inserting a killer. It's a terrifying trip into the heart of darkness when Meg and Minnie find themselves on a remote island with T.J., the guy they both dig.
Ready to cut loose, they soon realize something is amiss. After meeting the other eight guests, they instantly notice that the hostess is not there. There is a DVD with a foreboding message; an electrical storm; downed phone lines; salacious hook-ups; and all the rest of the elements you'd expect from a grip-the-edge-of-your-chair thriller.
The characters draw you in and the plot is well-defined as the suspense grows and grows into a scary, scary climax. The taut writing jumps at you like a viper.
"The missing page from Claire's diary." Meg took a few steps toward the still smoldering body of Kumiko, facing T.J., keeping the discarded gun in her line of sight. "It was you," she said. Her voice pounded in her chest.
"It was you all along."
You'll be scared and entertained at the same time, is a rare combination in the thriller genre.
Steven Rosen/2012 for curled
up with a good kid's book