Book Review: Ten

Book Review

Ten

Gretchen McNeil

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Three-day weekend.
Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

                                        Review

Ten by Gretchen McNeil is a book that I had on my summer reading list for probably around 3 summers in a row. It was just one of those books that I was really looking forward to, but in an apprehensive sort of way, to the point that I was scared to read it. This was just because I knew that realistically, it probably wouldn't live up to my high expectations, which all stemmed from one fact; this book, apparently, was loosely inspired by Agatha Christie's and then there were none". Now Agatha Christie was my introduction to the crime genre, and while I don't really revisit my well thumbed copies of my old Miss Marple paperbacks anymore, they still have a really special place in my heart. Which is why, when I did finally get around to picking up, and two days later, putting down a copy of Ten, my mind was so abuzz with criticism and praise that I knew I had to vent it somewhere.

So now that I'm done rambling, let's get on with the review!

Immediately, the setting of the book was like an echo of "And then there were none". Set on a near deserted island, this book mimics the isolation and the ominous undertones that Agatha Christie achieved from the start of her novel, and for that I was strangely thankful. What this book really needed was suspense, and I feel like the setting, throughout the whole book, really aided in creating this foreboding atmosphere that was one of the true high points of the novel. The whole island, the red herrings with the neighbors, and the environment, was so clearly thought out, I had no trouble imagining it, which really helped carry some of the weaker points of the book.

However, almost immediately after the environment is created, the characters completely ruin it. Imagine all of the stereotypes from high school movies and TV shows. Now, put them in a big house, on a deserted island, in the middle of a murder mystery, and there you have the premise of Ten. It felt overdone and stereotypical, and occasionally borderline offensive. The protagonist was the typical plain Jane with hidden appeal. All of the male characters merged into one.  Minnie, the 'best friend' figure in the book, but also somehow one of the major antagonists throughout the plot, is revealed to be bipolar, a revelation which then of course leads to her medication being stolen by the 'killer', because what could be more scary than a girl off her meds. Most of the romance and character interaction felt forced, and as though it was so clearly leading to something. I understand that characters are basically devices used to move the plot forward, but in this case, I feel that the book relied to heavily on them to do so. 

One thing I will say is that this book, while being predictable to anyone familiar with the story on which it was based, was quite suspenseful. I definitely wanted to keep reading, because while the plot is slightly derived, it is REALLY fast paced. I would say that for anyone who hasn't read much Agatha Christie, and is just getting into thriller novels, this would be great. However, I can't tell you whether this is because it is a good book, or because it is so heavily based on an excellent book. 

Now for the cover!

I absolutely love this cover. It was what originally drew me to the book for sure. I appreciate the cold background contrasting with the red letters, anything with a careful and minimalist color scheme is *good in my books*.

Thanks for reading!