Ten by Gretchen McNeil

TEN was a thrilling, fast-paced suspenseful horror story that I absolutely loved! One of the very best mysteries I've read all year.  It starts with ten teens who seem an odd bunch to be invited to a weekend-long party at a wealthy family's island home. But since it's the most popular girl in school that's inviting them, they don't dare refuse. Upon arriving at the island home, they are stranded by a severe storm, and soon find that someone seems determined to keep them there. When they start dying one by one, they have only two options: there is either someone else in the house, or one of them is the killer.

I instantly bonded with the main character Meg. The supporting characters were also strong and multi-dimensional. I was skeptical at first that the reader would be able to connect with ten characters in a single book without feeling confused. Fortunately, I was completely wrong. Though the novel is told from Meg's point of view, the others around her also come to life very quickly.

I like to consider myself pretty hard to fool - I normally have a fairly decent idea of how I think things are going to play out in a story. Especially one like this, where each time one of them died, the suspect pool got smaller and smaller. That said, TEN completely knocked me off my chair. I had two main theories while reading. The first was what I thought would be the easy way out. It would have been a clean way to end. The second was what I hoped would be the actual ending, as it was a bit more intriguing. I was completely off on both counts. Every few pages something else would surface that would have me flip-flopping back and forth between which of these two theories I thought would play out. But by the last chapter, it turned out I was completely wrong. And I loved it.

The plotting was absolutely superb. The sort that you can only fully appreciate while looking back at all the breadcrumbs left by author once you reach the end. I really respect that fact that McNeil didn't tie this up too neatly either. It was a messy ending, exactly what was needed to make a story like this realistic.

If you're looking for a thrilling, masterfully plotted stand-alone novel to keep you on your toes, TEN is absolutely the perfect fit. You most definitely won't regret it!

Read an Excerpt 

 

  

Posted by Tynga at 02:11

 Balzer amp; Bray, Gretchen McNeil, Harper Collins, Mystery, Purchased, Review, young adult  9 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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