by R L Stine

A Horror, 1995 by Grand Central Publishing, 400 Pages 

What I Didn’t Like:

• The jumps between characters sometimes got a bit confusing at the start of the chapters. The problem, I think, comes from the fact that a lot of the characters are similar. This takes some getting used to. 
• There’s a lot of unnecessary references to women’s breasts or sex in general. It doesn’t add anything to the story and really didn’t need to be there. A lot of other reviewers mentioned it as well, so it’s not just me! Basically it feels like someone told Stine he needed to sexualize EVERYTHING if he was going to write for adults. 
• The characters are incredibly dull. I didn’t feel connected to anyone nor did I really get an idea of what they added to the story. They were just placeholder characters for the plot he was throwing together. 

What I Did Like:

• The unexplained elements catch your interest early and make you wonder what you don’t know. This makes it a fun read only because you’re looking for more clues among the pages. 
• The final part of the book moves VERY quickly and keeps you engaged as things all start to come to a head. 
• The ending works for the story told. It’s shocking and stretches in your mind beyond that final page, which I like.  

Who Should Read This One:

• Readers who like plot driven horror may like this one more than I did. 

My Rating: 2 Stars

• For me the lack of connection with any character was problematic.