REVIEW: The Haunting (book) by Natasha Preston

The Haunting is a YA thriller. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Almost a year ago, Penny's small town was rocked by the news that Jackson Whitmore, the father of Penny's boyfriend Nash, was a serial killer who'd murdered several teens. Now Halloween is rolling around again, and Penny can't help but think of Nash, who, along with his older sister Grace, was basically ostracized after his father was caught. Even though Penny knew he'd been as much in the dark about his father as everyone else, she still cut off contact with Nash on her parents' orders. She's regretting that decision now.

But then a new body turns up. Is it a copycat killer? Everyone immediately focuses on Nash and Grace, particularly Nash. Penny refuses to believe it's him, but someone's started these murders up again, and she can't help but think it's someone close to her.

REVIEW: The Lost (book) by Natasha Preston

The Lost is a YA thriller (could possibly be considered YA horror?). I bought my copy new.

Review:

Piper and her friend Hazel decide to play amateur detectives and look into some of the recent disappearances of teens in their hometown. Most people have written the disappearances off as runaways, but something doesn't seem right to Piper. 

Unfortunately, the girls let their guard down a bit too much and go off with Caleb and Owen, two good-looking college students from wealthy and well-respected families who also happen to be sadistic kidnappers. Before they can process what's going on, Piper and Hazel end up trapped in a house with several other kidnapped teens. 

Caleb, Owen, and a third person, Matt, randomly select prisoners at various times, sending them to one of six rooms. Five of the rooms contain some form of torture (sound, temperature, light, sleep deprivation, and water), while the sixth one is where two prisoners are forced to fight each other until one has died. All of this is intended for the amusement of Caleb, Owen, and Matt, who are a nasty combination of rich, bored, and horrible.

Somehow, Piper plans to escape (Hazel is firmly in "nah, we're going to die" mode). First, however, she has to survive.

REVIEW: The Cabin (book) by Natasha Preston

The Cabin is a YA thriller/mystery. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Mackenzie plans to enjoy her time with her friends at Josh's cabin this weekend, even if Josh himself disgusts her. The group is joined by Josh's brother, Blake, who Josh has mostly lived apart from since their parents got divorced. Mackenzie is prepared for Blake to be just as awful as Josh, but she finds herself actually enjoying his company...enough to sleep with him that night, even though she never does one night stands.

The next morning, everyone wakes up with massive hangovers, only to discover that Josh and his girlfriend Courtney were stabbed to death in the kitchen sometime during the night. They were all drunk, but surely someone should have heard something? 

Unfortunately, since the cabin was locked up and there were no signs of forced entry, the police immediately assume that someone in the group must have committed the murders. Mackenzie refuses to believe that one of her friends could be capable of such a thing, and she's so drawn to Blake that she doesn't believe he could have done it either. But if the killer wasn't one of them, then who was? And what if those around Mackenzie have more secrets than she realizes?

REVIEW: The Cellar (book) by Natasha Preston

The Cellar is a YA thriller (or YA horror?). I bought my copy new.

Review:

Summer is a 16-year-old who's kidnapped by a man who calls himself Clover. Clover renames her "Lily" and tells her that she is now his family, along with three young women who he has named Poppy, Rose, and Violet. The four of them live in the cellar of Clover's home, entirely dependent upon him. Although his behavior is initially relatively predictable, over the next few months of Summer's captivity he becomes more and more unstable.

Meanwhile, Lewis, Summer's boyfriend, and Summer's friends and family are all looking for her, refusing to give up hope that she might still be alive.