Ten

by Gretchen McNeil

[rakesandrogues]

Originally published at: http://muggle-born.net/ten-by-gretchen-mcneil-book-review/

I don’t read a lot of mysteries, but I’m glad to have picked up TEN by Gretchen McNeil. The plot sounds like your stereotypical teen slasher film. Best friends Meg and Minnie are excited to spend the weekend partying at the island home of one of the most popular girls at school. But everything starts to go downhill when one of the guests turns up dead. Stranded on a deserted island with no other means of communication, Meg, Minnie, and a small group of teens must find out what is going on before it’s too late.

TEN by Gretchen McNeil is not a book one should read alone. McNeil’s writing will make you paranoid. I was constantly checking my back to make sure that there was no one creeping up behind me, and the softest sounds startled me. I was also easily captivated by the plot of TEN by Gretchen McNeil. I read it one sitting – I just had to know who was behind it all.

The protagonist, Meg, was likeable enough that I didn’t want her to get killed. She wasn’t a simpering female who sat back and let the guys take action. She was pretty involved in the story, which I really liked. However, I wish that Meg had spoken up and voiced her thoughts a few times during TEN by Gretchen McNeil. Biting her tongue is a habit that she eventually learns to overcome in the novel. I admire her loyalty towards her best friend, Minnie, even if she wasn’t exactly the nicest friend in return.

Like any teen slasher film, there has to be a little bit of romance in TEN and Gretchen McNeil does not disappoint. Romance should probably be the last thing on the minds of these teens, but McNeil actually pulls off a decent romantic subplot. There was the perfect balance of mystery, horror, and romance in TEN by Gretchen McNeil.

Though the ending came as a shock, I was a little disappointed by the resolution of TEN by Gretchen McNeil. I would have liked to see an epilogue of some sort that showed how the characters dealt with the aftermath. As a reader, I’m left with a myriad of questions: Will the police actually believe what happened? How will the characters cope with living through such an event? But this is more nit-picking on my part than anything else.

TEN by Gretchen McNeil is a creepy read that will have you flipping pages until the culprit has been uncovered. McNeil will have you guessing until the very end.