Review - Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters by Peter Vronsky

Title: Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters

Author: Peter Vronsky

Publication date: October 2004

Published by: Berkley

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis:

The comprehensive examination into the frightening history of serial homicide.

In this unique book, Peter Vronsky documents the psychological, investigative, and cultural aspects of serial murder, beginning with its first recorded instance in Ancient Rome, through fifteenth-century France, up to such notorious contemporary cases as cannibal/necrophile Ed Kemper, Henry Lee Lucas, Ted Bundy, and the emergence of what he classifies as the "serial rampage killer" such as Andrew Cunanan.

Vronsky not only offers sound theories on what makes a serial killer, but also provides concrete suggestions on how to survive an encounter with one-from recognizing verbal warning signs to physical confrontational resistance. Exhaustively researched with transcripts of interviews with killers, and featuring up-to-date information on the apprehension and conviction of the Green River Killer and the Beltway Snipers, Vronsky's one-of-a-kind book covers every conceivable aspect of an endlessly riveting true-crime phenomenon.

My rating: ★★★★★

The biggest mistake in trying to figure out why these people are this way is that we try to analyze them through our own standard behavior. They don’t think the way you or I think. We’re not sure why—but the point is they don’t.

I don't read very much nonfiction—not for fun anyway. Lol. This is probably the second nonfiction book I’ve read of my own volition. Lol. But I really liked it! I find serial killers very fascinating... and by that I mean the psychology behind why they do what they do 😅 When I was in nursing school, psychology was probably my favorite section to study! I just find it so intriguing! So yeah, I really liked this book and learning about the methods behind the madness, if you will. Lol.

Review: The Thrill Club (Fear Street #24) by R.L. Stine

Title: The Thrill Club

Series: Fear Street #24

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: May 1994

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis:

Talia Blanton could scare you to death.

She writes horror stories—stories that often give her friends starring roles.

Everyone loves Talia’s terrifying tales—until they start to come true. One by one, Talia’s friends become Talia’s victims.

Is Talia making her stories come true? Or is someone trying to turn Talia’s real life into a horror story?

My rating: ★★☆☆☆
I liked the idea of stories becoming reality and the characters dying the way they did in said stories. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much all I liked about this book. It’s even more unfortunate because this is one of the first Fear Street books I ever read... EVER! This was probably the first or second Fear Street book I read back when I was in middle school, so I had high hopes for it. Things did not go well (for me).

Review: Lucky Day (I Hunt Killers #0.2) by Barry Lyga

Title: Lucky Day

Series: I Hunt Killers #0.2

Novellas in this series: Down Time (#0.1)

Author: Barry Lyga

Publication date: April 2014

Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Source: Purchased ebook

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Synopsis:

This is the story of the small town sheriff who captured one of the world's most ruthless and cunning murderers.

It all started with Dead Girl #1 and Dead Girl #2, the first killings in the sleepy town of Lobo's Nod in decades. Two murders: just a coincidence, or something more sinister? One thing's for sure -- it was definitely inconvenient in a year when Sheriff G. William Tanner, a mourning widower, had to run for reelection.

With a trail gone cold, it's only luck that links the murders to the most notorious serial killer in memory. And in a town like Lobo's Nod, the killer must be someone Tanner already knows...

My rating: ★★★★☆

This is the story of the small town sheriff who captured one of the world's most ruthless and cunning murderers.

It was very interesting seeing how Billy Dent was finally captured after so many murders. There was a certain detail that propelled things forward and the sheriff completely missed it! I kept asking myself how he didn’t see that in the first place, but of course, I gotta cut him some slack since we knew what we were looking for.

Review: Down Time (I Hunt Killers #0.1) by Barry Lyga

Title: Down Time

Series: I Hunt Killers #0.1

Author: Barry Lyga

Publication date: August 2018

Published by: Hachette

Source: Purchased ebook

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Synopsis:

Billy Dent is the world's most notorious serial killer, but even killers need to go on vacation sometimes. When a mysterious death occurs in the hotel where Billy is staying, his "job" seems to call. Will his vacation truly be down time for him after all?

In this prequel novella to the I Hunt Killers trilogy, bestselling author Barry Lyga crafts a creepy, intricately plotted mystery.

My rating: ★★★★★
This was my first introduction to the world of I Hunt Killers and I absolutely loved it! It was SO good! So our serial killer Billy Dent goes off on vacation when suddenly he's got a murder on his hands. Funnily enough, it was one he didn't commit.

There was only one way to solve the problem, Billy realized. Without intending to, he chuckled at the very thought. He was going to have to solve this murder.

Review: Creatures of the Night (Fear Street Collector's Editions #9) by R.L. Stine

Title: Creatures of the Night

Series: Fear Street | Fear Street Super Chiller | Fear Street Collector's Editions

Books in this omnibus: Haunted | Bad Moonlight | Trapped

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: October 1998

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Are you afraid to walk down Fear Street? Maybe you should be.

They say that weird things always happen on that dark and twisting road. They say it's a place to be frightened of—that those who go there never return the same. And some never return at all...

They say it's a place where strange creatures dwell, creatures who thrive on darkness. Dare to read about three of these creatures in the Fear Street books of this special Collector's Edition!

My rating: ★★★★☆

Ghosts and werewolves... and more ghosts!!

Review: The Beginning (Fear Street Collector's Editions #1) by R.L. Stine

Title: The Beginning

Series: Fear Street | Fear Street Collector's Editions

Books in this omnibus: The New Girl | The Surprise Party | The Overnight

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: February 1998

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Are you afraid to walk down Fear Street? Maybe you should be.

They say that weird things always happen on that dark and twisting road. They say it's a place to be frightened of - that those who go there never return the same. And some never return at all...

Dare to read the very first three chilling FEAR STREET books, in this special Collector's Edition!

Contains "The New Girl" "The Surprise Party" and "The Overnight".

My rating: ★★★★☆

The first stories of Fear Street...

Review: Bad Moonlight (Fear Street Super Chiller #8) by R.L. Stine

Title: Bad Moonlight

Series: Fear Street Super Chiller #8 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: June 1995

Published by: Archway paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

She wasn’t just crying wolf...

Danielle Verona can’t believe the band picked her to be their new lead singer. She’s on the road, performing at all the hot clubs. The adoring fans, the bright lights—it’s a dream come true!

But when nighttime falls, Danielle can feel the terror in the darkness. There’s eerie howling outside her window. And then a band member is killed—ripped to shreds by a wild animal. Danielle knows something is out there, lurking in the moonlight. Something savage...and hungry.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Night time is the right time for terror!

Danielle is in a band, touring and singing with them, but she keeps having these awful “fantasies” of horrible deaths and stuff. She says fantasies, I say hallucinations. Lol. But at least she admits she needs help with her mental health issues. There were no stereotypes in this book about that and I really loved it. Needing help is not something you should be ashamed of. Anyway, Danielle just graduated from high school and her aunt, who she lives with now after her parents died in a car accident, actually encouraged her to get into this band stuff before she went off to college. You know, just a year off of fun before you settle down and focus on your studies. It’s usually the opposite of what parents want their kids to do, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Review: The Monster Museum (Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #10) by J.L. Bryan

Title: The Monster Museum

Series: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #10

Previous books in this series: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper (#1) | Cold Shadows (#2) | The Crawling Darkness (#3) | Terminal (#4) | House of Whispers #5 | Maze of Souls #6 | Lullaby (#7) | The Keeper (#8) | The Tower (#9)

Author: J.L. Bryan

Publication date: August 31st 2018

Published by: J.L. Bryan

Source: E-book for review fro author

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Synopsis:

Just outside the small but colorful mountain resort town of Foxboro, Tennessee lies Dr. Weirdman's Mountain Museum of Monsters, Curiosities, and Ancient Mysteries. A tourist draw for earlier generations it offered travelers the amusement of touring unusual underground caves, and pseudo-scientific exhibits ranging from strange creatures to the supposed artifacts of lost civilizations.

Now the museum is a crumbling relic of an older age, fallen into disrepair. Its long-time owner has died, leaving it in the hands of a younger distant relative who knows nothing of how to run a failing tourist-trap of a museum, but who is desperate to make a living and provide for his own children.

The museum has a serious ghost problem, though, and Ellie Jordan is called in from Savannah to help. An unexpected old friend joins Ellie at the last moment so they can spend a snow-filled Christmas together in the mountains...if the ghosts of the restless dead don't turn the holidays into a horrific tragedy.

My rating: ★★★★☆
Ellie Jordan’s latest case takes her to Foxboro, Tennessee where there is a museum called Dr. Weirdman's Mountain Museum of Monsters, Curiosities, and Ancient Mysteries that is apparently haunted, for real. It’s almost Christmas but Ellie decides to take the case because there’s children involved and she’s worried about their safety. That’s the kind of amazing person she is.

Review: Beach Party by R.L. Stine

Title: Beach Party

Series: Point Horror

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: August 1990

Published by: Scholastic

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

It's the ultimate beach party in California. And Karen, who's just broken up with her boyfriend, is going to enjoy every minute of it—especially having two new guys who like her. But the party takes a nasty turn when Karen realizes someone is out to spoil the fun by getting rid of her.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
Karen’s friend Anne-Marie comes to visit her for summer break after having moved across the country a little while ago. They’re staying at Karen’s dad’s beach side apartment by themselves, and it should be nothing but fun and beach parties. And it starts out like that. Karen meets these two guys and she is having a blast. And then strange things start happening. Someone keeps threatening Karen to stay away from one of the guys, but are they serious enough to kill?

Review: There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Title: There's Someone Inside Your House

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publication date: September 2017

Published by: Dutton Books

Source: Library book

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Synopsis:

Love hurts...

Makani Young thought she'd left her dark past behind her in Hawaii, settling in with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska. She's found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn't far behind.

Then, one by one, the students of Osborne Hugh begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets.

My rating: ★★☆☆☆
I was so, so excited to read this! It’s right up my alley after all! But... no. It was... just, no. If you are a horror/thriller fan like me, don’t go into this book thinking you’re gonna get that, ‘cause you’re not. The title and synopsis of the book are incredibly misleading. This is a contemporary/romance that every once in a while remembers it’s actually supposed to be a mystery.

Review: The New Boy (Fear Street #20) by R.L. Stine

Title: The New Boy

Series: Fear Street #20 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: January 1994

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

He stole their hearts... Does he want their lives, too?

What a hunk! When handsome, mysterious Ross Gabriel comes to Shadyside High, all the girls want to date him... even the ones who already have boyfriends! Janie, Eve and Faith go so far as to make a bet... which one of them will he go out with first?

But then the murders begin, and it starts to look like dating Ross means flirting with a gruesome and untimely death. Will Janie’s dream date with Ross turn out to be the night of her life? Or the night of her death?

My rating: ★★★☆☆

He was a hunk of trouble...

There’s a hot, new guy at school and so many girls want him, including Janie and her two friends. Her two friends who already have boyfriends, btw. But regardless, they make a bet to see who he goes out with first. It’s too bad one of the girls winds up dead! Did Ross actually kill her?

Review: Haunted (Fear Street #7) by R.L. Stine

Title: Haunted

Series: Fear Street #7 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: July 1990

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

The Night Stalker

Melissa woke up screaming. The prowler was at her window…or was he? The recent headlines about a Fear Street prowler had everyone on edge. Her father now kept a loaded pistol in his bedroom. That made it even more frightening—and real.

Then the haunting began: her new car driving as if someone else had taken control; her birthday presents ripped open by unseen hands; an invisible force trying to push her out the bedroom window.

Out of the shadows of her bedroom came a menacing figure. Who was he? Did he really come from beyond the grave? And why had he come to kill her? If Melissa doesn’t solve the mystery fast, these questions will haunt her—to death!

My rating: ★★★★★

There’s a prowler in Melissa’s room—but is he dead or alive?

Melissa is being haunted by ghost who claims she killed him. But surely this is something she would remember, right? First the Fear Street Prowler breaking into houses on Fear Street to steal stuff, and now this? Poor Melissa.

Review: Violets Are Blue More Trouble Brews (Mellow Summers #13) by Janet McNulty

Title: Violets Are Blue More Trouble Brews

Series: Mellow Summers #13

Previous books in this series: Sugar And Spice And Not So Nice (#1) | Frogs, Snails, And A Lot Of Wails (#2) | An Apple A Day Keeps Murder Away (#3) | Three Little Ghosts (#4) | Oh Holy Ghost (#5) | Where Trouble Roams (#6) | Two Ghosts Haunt A Grove (#7) | Trick Or Treat Or Murder? (#8) | Roses Are Red; He's Dead (#9) | Double, Double, Nothing But Trouble (#10) | Ring Around The Rosy, Not Another Ghosty (#11) | Hickory Dickory Dock The Ghost In The Clock (#12)

Author: Janet McNulty

Publication date: October 2017

Published by: Janet McNulty

Source: Own ebook

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Synopsis:

Mel is enjoying her Fourth of July holiday in the park with her fiancé, Greg, and best friend, Jackie, when a contestant in a local beauty pageant collapses and dies. At first, Mel decides to let the police handle the matter, but soon receives a tip from an unlikely source, the obnoxious Tammy, that the woman was part of an old family and that her death was not accidental, but murder. Before she knows it, Mel finds herself scouring the sewers in an effort to locate a missing clue. Will she solve the mystery before Tammy unravels her last nerve?

My rating: ★★★★☆
More murder solving for Mel and her friends! This time a girl at a pageant literally drops dead... during the pageant. At first Mel was going to stay out of it and let the police handle it. Especially because it seemed like she died of heat stroke or something like that. But it turns out that she might have been murdered somehow after all! Detective Shorts is not happy, like always, but Mel sets out to solve the mystery.

Review: Bad Dreams (Fear Street #22) by R.L. Stine

Title: Bad Dreams

Series: Fear Street #22 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: March 1994

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Every night Maggie Travers has the same horrible dream. Every night she is forced to watch the same murder. And every night the girl in her dream cries out for help. Maggie is afraid to go to sleep again. But when the terrifying dream starts to come true and the gruesome accidents begin, staying awake is the real nightmare!

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Don't go to sleep!

Maggie keeps having these horrible recurring nightmares, and, well, this is basically Maggie’s life right now:

What was she supposed to do? Pour her heart out? My father died, my boyfriend has been ignoring me ever since I told him about my weird nightmare, I found a knife in my pillow, and I think my bed is haunted.
No, that wouldn't sound too good.

Review: The Surprise Party (Fear Street #2) by R.L. Stine

Title: The Surprise Party

Series: Fear Street #2 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: October 1990

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

It's been a year since Evan died in the Fear Street woods. A year since Ellen moved away, and "the gang" split up. Meg Dalton felt as if she'd lost her best friends. Everyone changed. Even her boyfriend Tony was acting moody, strange. But when she heard that Ellen was returning for a visit, Meg had the answer: she'd bring them all together again with a surprise party for Ellen!

That's when the terror began... the phone calls... the threats... the bizarre acts of violence. "Cancel the party—or else," the whispered voice on the phone told her. Meg was scared, and with good reason. Whoever wanted the party stopped would try anything—even murder! But why? The dark Fear Street woods held the answer... if Meg dared to discover the truth!

My rating: ★★★★☆

It was just another party—until the threats began...

After the apparent suicide of their friend Evan, Meg’s friend (and Evan’s girlfriend) moves away. Now she’s back in Shadyside visiting and Meg decides to throw her a surprise party. Except someone doesn’t want this party to happen. Does it have to do with the death of Evan? Pretty much, yeah. Lol.

Review: Broken Date by R.L. Stine

Title: Broken Date

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: October 1991

Published by: Pocket Books

Source: Owned paperback

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Synopsis:

Jamie and Tom have been going out since junior high. They are planning to graduate from high school and attend college together. Everything's perfect until Tom breaks a date--and all the horror begins. What has happened to Tom? To Jamie's horror, the boy she loves is stalking her and making threats. Now, there's nowhere Jamie can hide.

My rating: ★★☆☆☆
Oh, this book... not one of R.L. Stine’s best, I’m afraid.

This is gonna be hard review to do because pretty much everything I have to say is spoiler-y, so here we go. Lol.

Basically, Jamie is at the mall one day with her best friend, when she witnesses a robbery and murder. She freaks out because she thinks the guy might have been her boyfriend Tom. But this idiot wasn’t wearing her glasses, but she’s pretty sure it was him.

Review: Holding Court by K.C. Held

Title: Holding Court

Author: K.C. Held

Publication date: March 2016

Published by: Entangled Teen

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Jules Verity knows exactly what's in store at her new job at castle-turned-dinner-theater Tudor Times. Some extra cash, wearing a fancy-pants dress, and plenty of time to secretly drool over the ever-so-tasty--and completely unavailable--Grayson Chandler. Except that it's not quite what she imagined.

For one, the costume Jules has to wear is awful. Then there's the dead body she finds that just kind of...well, disappears. Oh, and there's the small issue of Jules and her episodes of what her best friend calls "Psychic Tourette's Syndrome"--spontaneous and uncontrollable outbursts of seemingly absurd prophecies.

The only bright side? This whole dead body thing seems to have gotten Grayson's attention. Except that the more Jules investigates, the more she discovers that Grayson's interest might not be as courtly as she thought. In fact, it's starting to look suspicious...

My rating: ★★★★★
Holding Court was so freaking cute! I absolutely loved it! This was exactly what I needed after reading Final Girls. Don’t get me wrong, I love horror/thrillers and I really loved Final Girls, but it was just... wow. Anyway, this book came at just the perfect time!

Review: Final Girls by Riley Sager

Title: Final Girls

Author: Riley Sager

Publication date: July 2017

Published by: Dutton

Source: Library book

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Synopsis:

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout's knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media's attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy's doorstep. Blowing through Quincy's life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa's death come to light, Quincy's life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam's truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

My rating: ★★★★★
As a horror movie fan, I loved the idea of this book. And in case you aren’t a fan, at the end of a horror movie, the last surviving girl who goes up against the bad guy is called the Final Girl.

We were, for whatever reason, the lucky ones who survived when no one else had. Pretty girls covered in blood. As such, we were each in turn treated like something rare and exotic.

Review: Broken Hearts (Fear Street Super Chiller #4) by R.L. Stine

Title: Broken Hearts

Series: Fear Street Super Chiller #4 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: February 1993

Published by: Archway/Simon Pulse

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Roses are red, corpses are blue. On Valentine’s Day, you’ll die too!

There’s someone out there, someone who kills on Valentine’s Day. Josie and Melissa are scared—especially when they receive threatening valentines. Then the murders begin. Who is sending these horrible valentines to the girls of Shadyside High? And who will be the next to die?

My rating: ★★★★☆

Valentine's Day can be killer.

Melissa and the McClains (Josie, Rachel, and Erica) live right across the street from each other and that is how they became friends. But things change after Rachel’s accident. Josie basically becomes Reva from Silent Night. She seriously rivaled her at times. But in the end Josie, wasn’t as cruel as Reva, so I’ll give her that. But that definitely doesn’t excuse how she treated Erica and Melissa. She was so inconsiderate, especially toward her younger sister Erica.

Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway: Jinxed by Thommy Hutson

Title: Jinxed

Author: Thommy Hutson

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Young Adult

Publication date: March 13th 2018

Published by: Vesuvian Books

Source: For review

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Synopsis:

High School Can Be a Real Killer

Break a mirror
Walk under a ladder
Step on a crack

Innocent childhood superstitions …

But someone at the secluded Trask Academy of Performing Arts is taking things one deadly step further when the campus is rocked with the deaths of some of its star students.

Layna Curtis, a talented, popular senior, soon realizes that the seemingly random, accidental deaths of her friends aren’t random—or accidents—at all. Someone has taken the childhood games too far, using the idea of superstitions to dispose of their classmates. As Layna tries to convince people of her theory, she uncovers the terrifying notion that each escalating, gruesome murder leads closer to its final victim: her.

Will Layna’s opening night also be her final bow?

My rating: ★★★☆☆
It’s Spring Break in an elite boarding school on a secluded island right off of Seattle. Most everyone has gone home, but not Layna and her friends. Little do they know, someone is out to kill them. It’s too bad they’re stuck on the island with a murderer... with no way out.