Review: Trapped by Jack Kilborn

Author: Jack Kilborn
Publisher: CreateSpace
Date of publication: June 2010

TERRIFIED...

It was supposed to be a harmless camping trip. Six wayward teenagers who'd run into trouble with the law, and their court-appointed guardians, Sara and Martin Randhurst. Three nights on a small, deserted island off of Michigan's upper peninsula. A time to bond, to learn, to heal. Then Martin told a campfire story about the island's history. Of the old civil war prison hidden in there, and the starving confederate soldiers who resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. Everyone thought it was funny. They even laughed when Martin pretended to be dragged off into the woods. But Martin didn't come back. And neither did Sara when she went in search of him. Then the laughter stopped.

...TO DEATH

The group soon began to realize that this deserted island wasn't so deserted after all. And perhaps Martin's ridiculous story had more truth to it than anyone thought. What's the most horrifying thing you can imagine? This is a hundred times worse... 

  Trapped involves Sara and Martin who run a center for troubled teens.  They take six of their "kids" on a camping trip on a secluded island off of Michigan's upper  peninsula.  After telling a spooky campfire story, Martin disappears.  There begins a long night filled with screams and horrifying darkness.

I went into this book completely blind.  It was a random audio choice from my library and it ended up being a guilty pleasure. I both loved this book and hated it at the same time.  It had the gory parts and suspense that I love from a good horror book.  But at times, this one kind of went a bit too far.  If you are not a fan of reading about cooked human flesh, you might want to skip this one.  The overall story was engaging.  The characters were fun.  There were a few twists that kept the story on a winding path to a very satisfying, if extremely bloody, conclusion.  

I'd recommend this one to fans of movies like Saw and Hostile.  It's part of a series, so I'll be seeking out the others as well.