A descriptive, gory horror story 90s style that will make you run through the pages.
A haunting secret from the past comes back to haunt the present in the most deadly way possible. At the elite high school Trask Hall located on a secluded island, the life of Layna is a lively competition. When her friends start dying one by one, Layna begins to question her past and her connection to a theatre fire where a student lost his life. Can she find the truth before the killer gets to her?
Now, this is a spooky, heart-stopping novel! I usually don’t fall for high school novels but this one was definitely creepy enough to get my interest. The story is addictive by the way the killings happen and how the plot keeps twisting.
The style of writing is simple and easy to follow but gripping in intriguing at the same time. I think at times it got a bit too aggressive and a bit stereotypical when it comes to describing his characters. The descriptions are very detailed and it’s easy for the reader to jump into this world. I must admit that in some scenes were was hard to read through. It’s clear that Hutson has a passion for horror movies/books.
The novel is fast-paced right from the beginning and the story is told in the third person, which for me made the story easy to follow. The plot was both good and classic. A lot of scenes of the novel definitely brought up memories from the classic horror movies with “let’s go into the basement” and “let’s take a walk in a dark, deserted hallway with a killer on the loose”. Still, there is a definite charm to it. Thommy Hutson adds enough darkness and gory details to create something that leaves a trail of goosebumps. The idea of killing based on superstitions was good and it added spice to the story. There are enough twists to keep the reader completely involved in the story. The best part is that the reader doesn’t really know how everything is connected but in the end, all the information comes together perfectly. The end is shocking and completely unpredictable which worked fine for me. The bottom line of this story: don’t keep secrets, they might come back to get you.
The characters didn’t work out too well for me. I couldn’t connect with them and it seemed like the author didn’t have any love for them either. There is a love-triangle between characters but it felt a bit disconnected from the plot. The fact that the characters just throw themselves in the line of danger and do exactly what they shouldn’t annoy me a bit. It’s like there were created just for the killing. The killer who seemed to be everywhere at once kept messing up his image by being sloppy in some scenes, which killed a bit the mood. I think there is a lack of character development that could make the story more intriguing and actually make the reader feel for these characters.
I have mixed feelings about this novel. I think the plot is great and the style of writing, in general, was intriguing but the characters are seriously lacking.
Thank you Xpresso Book Tours and the author Thommy Hutson for allow me to participate on the book tour of Jinxed.
Book Traveller 