🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2
A howling wind, a raging blizzard. Somewhere in the depths of the US Midwest, one day’s travel out of Chicago.
Five teens, led by our narrator and main protagonist, Nell, are enroute to a state theatre championship, along with their drama teacher, when they are forced to take refuge in a remote and run-down motel.
And what a motel! Like something out of an old movie set, this huge and reconstructed “time-warp mausoleum” features an ill-conceived conference center, a giant common room disturbingly sporting dozens of weird and creepy knick-knacks on the walls, blankets of dust, a strangely vibrant Hawaiian-style tiki hut, a unwelcoming lagoon-style pool, and the oddest assortment of motel staff, caretakers, and creepy guests you are likely to meet between the pages.
This engaging teen/YA murder mystery reads like classic whodunit theater – with a crazy atmospheric buildup of suspense, a killer who may or may not be planning to murder the entire group, and a location so bone-chillingly stained by crime that evil may not only lurk nearby, but is likely doing the backstroke in the frigid waters of the motel pool.
When the blizzard forces another group of teens and their teacher to take refuge along with our heroes, the stage is now set for Act Two – a sort of murder-mystery-party-like atmosphere as the teens circle each other, hormones alerted, before the inevitable games begin. Games that include a sudden and terrifying revelation in “Two Truths and a Lie”, (one that must be after all, be a “truth”, and if so, is unthinkable).
“I like to watch people die
My least favorite food is mushrooms
I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve killed”.
Loads of fun, this smart, snappy book has wonderfully authentic teen protagonists, oodles of fear and suspense, blood and daggers, and twists and turns that will keep you reading long into the night.
Highly recommended for Teen/YA lovers of murder mysteries, drama, and suspense, I thoroughly enjoyed this and will have to read more from this wonderful author.
A great big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.
*This book will be publisher May 24, 2022
