This book was a bit… claustrophobic.
There were certain parts of this story that I had to stop and breathe because I felt I was with the characters trying to claw my way out.
Below, by Kev Harrison is about two people, Nick and Jess, who are put into a tv show for separate purposes, along with a videographer, Sofia, who thought she was there to film two people but got way more than she bargained for. Nick wanted to find answers to where his grandfather spent his final moments, while Jess was there to become more rounded than the social media influencer she portrayed herself to be on the internet.
A production company sends these people on an adventure to the place Nick’s grandfather spent his final moments of his life; a deep, dark mine shaft, which is non-operational and abandoned.
What could possibly go wrong?
If your answer is everything, you’d be correct.
Not only is this shaft in the US, the crew lives in England and has to be sent over to the US. How they managed to get permission for that? I have no idea. The believability was obviously a bit far-fetched but I don’t know a horror story that isn’t.
When the crew arrives, everything goes okay until they begin to explore the mine and they find themselves among creatures that go bump in the night. One of the those creatures also sabotages their way out of the mine shaft and now they must figure out how to get out without getting unalived.
This is the part of the book that left me gasping for my own breath. Picturing them in a tiny mine shaft with limited air supply, food, water, and creatures wanting to kill them… I wanted out of this story and I wanted it fast!
The author does an excellent job of leaving readers in suspense and the book reminded me a lot of the movie, “The Descent”, which I saw in the movie theater, and I have never been more freaked out about a movie than I was with that one. I refuse to watch that movie again, which this book is going right there with it. Not because it wasn’t a good book but because I am not a fan of spooky and I have reached my allowed spookiness for this year.
Another thing the author does well is give more back story as the book unfolds and leaves the readers getting just enough details to continue reading and wanting more. These were given in the form of diary pages from his grandfather before the mining accident happened 60 years ago. As the tension heightens in present day, the readers get a look into what happened back then and eventually everything becomes full circle.
The characters were all well rounded and uniquely thought out. They balanced each other because while Nick was more reserved and logical, Jess was more adventurous and wanting to know more.
The ending took me by surprise but it was very well done in terms of the lead up and mystery.
There were some minor shortfalls as far as the dialogue and narration, it could be a bit choppy where the flow felt a bit off in certain parts of the book but other than minor things, the story was captivating and creepy. Will I read it again? Probably not.
If you love scary stories and love to be creeped out and feel claustrophobic, then this is the book for you and I am positive you could read it over and over again.
(I need to stick to my happy books because this book trollop needs a Xanax.)
Pros:
- Really creepy
- Developed characters and plot
Cons:
- Creepy and flow could be choppy in places.
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