The Island. Natasha Preston. 2023. [February] 336 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: I uploaded my latest trailer to TikTok advertising my new YouTube video, Killer in the Family, and I sit back. Within seconds the numbers under the little heart start climbing as if Jeff Bezos were watching a livestream of his bank balance. He's building rockets. Malcolm Wyatt, a rich dude who invited me to his amusement park, is building islands.
Premise/plot: Six [teen] social media influencers are invited to preview a new [gothic themed] amusement park on a private island. Will any survive the weekend?
I'm tempted to stop the summary right then and there. That's the premise--pure and simple. Paisley (our protagonist) is joining up with five other influencers--Liam, James, Will, Ava, and Harper. There will be minimum--skeletal--staff on the island running the hotel and amusement park. Malcolm himself, the owner, will be on the island "overseeing" things from a distance.
Paisley has thoughts and opinions on her fellow influencers. They are all very different, have different genres, sub-genres, fan bases. Paisley's is true crime.
She makes plans with another influencer, Will, to meet up after midnight to sneak out of the hotel and view the island at night. She thinks this 'bonus' footage might be something. (They are technically not supposed to be running around unsupervised AT NIGHT on the island.) But Will never shows. He's a no-show the next day as well. Her mind immediately thinks MURDER. And though the other guests laugh at her worst-case scenario, she convinces the staff to check his hotel room. Will body is the first but not the last in this HEAVY BODY COUNT thriller.
My thoughts: There's no fooling around with this one. If readers are looking for a thriller with LOT of victims, lots of bodies stacking up, then this one delivers. Perhaps only Shakespeare can compete with this kind of body count with some of his tragedies. Readers should always *trust* their own instinct on to read or not to read. It is BLOODY and gory. It is packed with thrills--make that kills--for the last two-thirds of the novel.
It won't be for everyone. But it doesn't hide what it is. What you see is what you get.
© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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