Posted by Lauren in Book Reviews, Featured, Mystery | 7 Comments
Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release date: September 18, 2012
Pages: 304
Summary: Ten teens are invited to an island for three days of parent-free partying. Unfortunately, the weather turns sour and a storm hits, leaving the party-goers stranded on the island without any way to contact the outside world. To make matters worse, it seems that someone is systematically picking off (read: killing) the teens on the island. They need to figure out who the culprit is before they all wind up dead.
My thoughts: Ten has all the best elements of a horror movie perfectly packaged in a novel that can be read in one sitting. It has a huge cast of characters (necessary, of course, for killing off), but we do get to know the main characters quite well: Gretchen McNeil develops their history and personalities very well. The best part of the book, though, is how thoroughly terrifying it is. I’m usually not one for scary stories, but I completely ate Ten up—mostly because of how well the mystery is set up and executed. Plus, once I got started, there was no way I wasn’t finishing Ten. It’s one of those books that completely wrenches you out of reality and into the story.
For those of you who can see endings from a mile away, I can almost guarantee that you won’t be able to guess Ten’s killer until the very end. I had a theory towards the middle of the book, but I turned out to be completely wrong. I love when books surprise me, and Gretchen McNeil did exactly that with the ending of Ten.
The only thing you might be iffy about in Ten is the romance. It’s difficult to believe that two people could end up kissing while there’s a psycho killer on the loose, right? Luckily, Gretchen McNeil gives the romance an initial setup, which makes it more believable. Plus, when there is kissing, it reflects the urgency of the situation on the island, and the characters are, understandably, a little out of their minds. I loved this attention to detail: Gretchen McNeil always makes sure that Ten is plausible, and that the characters react like real people, rather than supersleuths who are never emotionally scarred.
If horror is your thing (and even if it’s not), try Ten! You’ll be surprised at how quick the pages fly by—and how great the mystery is.
4/5 stars
For those who like: horror, murder mysteries
Learn more about the author at GretchenMcNeil.com
Click here to see the rest of the stops on the TEN blog tour!
I’ve heard so many mixed reviews about this one! I think some people loved it and other people were underwhelmed, so it looks like I’ll just have to give this one a try myself. I’m glad you liked it though, so you’ve definitely made me want to read it! Brilliant review, Lauren! :D
Keertana @ Ivy Book Bindings recently posted..ARC Review: Eve and Adam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant
I am so excited for this book to come out!! I have had it pre-ordered for what feels like forever. Awesome review!!
Amy @ Book Loving Mom recently posted..Review: Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
but people are always making out when psycho killers are on the loose in movies. wait – that usually gets them killed. :) super excited to read this one.
fishgirl182 recently posted..Once Burned – Review
i love that you can’t see the ending coming!! i can’t wait for ten to be in stores.
Great review!! I’m definitely so intrigued by this one! I’m not the biggest mystery fan but this seems like something I’d love. I also don’t do much horror but I’ve been looking for a really scary book lately, so…yup! I’m definitely going to read this!
Great review!
Sierra @ Yearning to Read recently posted..Friday Buys 7/27 – 8/31/2012
I’m so glad to hear how much you loved it! I’m super excited to read this one and now I’m looking forward to it even MORE considering how much you liked Ten when you don’t normally like horror. Great review, Lauren :]
Glad to hear that the killer’s identity was difficult to guess! I like it when a story keeps you guessing about things like that. TEN sounds like an incredible horror novel :)
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