Tagline: The in-crowd is hanging out with a killer!
Back tagline: Trapped – with no way out…
Summary: Angie Parker is used to being a nobody at Oakbridge High. Then she shed a few pounds, her glasses and her “loser” image. Now she’s become part of the hottest clique at school. When spring break rolls around, Angie can’t wait to go on a canoe trip with her new friends to isolated Shadow Island. But when one of the guys dies mysteriously, it looks like they’re camping out with a murderer!
After a storm destroys their canoes, the group discovers that they’re trapped on Shadow Island. Angie and the others watch helplessly as, one by one, the kids in their group meet horrible deaths. Soon, only the murderer and the final victim will be left on Shadow Island – but will Angie survive that long?
First impressions: This sounds exactly like a slasher movie, which is right up my alley! The cover looks ominous and spooky, so I don’t even mind that the title takes up two thirds of the page. I’m excited to read this; if there’s one thing I’ve noticed from re-reading all these Point Horror books, it’s that not enough people die.
Recap
Roll call:
Angie – Our protagonist and newest member of the clique.
Christabel – The queen of Oakbridge High, apparently.
Melanie – Christabel’s lackey who loves frosted blue eyeshadow but hates Angie.
Tracy – The athlete and most likeable girl out of Angie’s new friends.
Ron – Christabel’s sexy boyfriend.
Chip – Melanie’s meathead boyfriend.
James – The nice guy of the group and Angie’s crush, hehe!
Michael – Angie’s often mentioned best friend/almost lover who died before the events of the book.
The book begins with an italicised POV of either the killer or their soon-to-be sixth victim [It’s cleverly written in a way where you can’t really tell, but I’m 98% sure it’s the bad guy!] during a showdown between the two. We aren’t given the names of either of these people but I’m willing to bet it’s Angie’s point of view and I’m also calling it right now that Angie is the killer. Anyway, get excited, everyone, because it reveals at least five people will die in this book [Finally, one with a lot of murders!].
We flashback to the main story now where protagonist Angie has just arrived at a rundown hostel with her friends, the popular clique of Oakbridge High. Angie had given herself an extreme makeover to get in with this group of popular kids, losing weight, ditching her glasses and even changing her hair colour [Because you should always change appearance in order to fit in, right?]. Angie, who really doesn’t seem to like her new group of friends, wonders if someone named Michael is proud of her now that she’s part of the clique.
We’re introduced to Christabel, the queen bee of Oakbridge High, and her shadow, Melanie, who’s brought a bag full of makeup for the outdoor trip because, according to Angie, “Heaven forbid she be caught without her frosted-blue eyeshadow.” [Did Melanie start the blue eyeshadow trend of the ’90s!?].
Melanie is a massive bitch to Angie, who suspects it’s either because Angie’s more wealthy or Angie is a nerd who somehow found her way into the friend group [Can Melanie die first, please?].
We then meet Ron, the super handsome, most popular boy at school and Christabel’s boyfriend, followed by Tracy, an athlete and one of the more likeable members of the group. Tracy asks if they’re sure they have enough food, but Melanie declares there’s plenty of food for the trip unless Angie goes on one of her eating binges [Melanie and her frosted blue eyeshadow can fuck right off]. Angie can never think of anything to say back to Melanie’s insults so just glares at her instead. She’s also surprised Melanie even noticed her when she’d been slightly overweight.
Another member of the group is James, who’s outside unloading the car while the others are in the front hall of the hostel, waiting to check in. Christabel and Melanie take this opportunity to gossip about how James had been really depressed last fall and stayed at a hospital for treatment. James had told everyone he was visiting his dying grandmother, and the two girls are surprised that Angie believed his cover story. Angie wasn’t part of the group back then, however, and her only friend had been Michael. They were just starting to explore their feelings for each other when he suddenly died [I’m guessing the clique had something to do with his death. Get that revenge, girl!].
Angie asks what James had been depressed about, but Christabel suddenly decides to busy herself elsewhere:
Knowing Christabel and her self-centred attitude towards other people’s feelings, it was obvious she had been mixed up somehow in James’s emotional breakdown. If she hadn’t been, she would have had no problem airing James’s dirty laundry.
[I’m skipping over a lot of the descriptions, but Faas Rice has done a great job setting the tone for each character!] Rounding out the friendship group is Chip, Melanie’s boyfriend, which means he isn’t very smart, according to Angie [Angie is an absolute savage with her thoughts about her “friends”, I love it!].
We learn the purpose of the trip – Mr Holmberg, a science teacher at school, and his wife lead a small group of students to Shadow Island every year over Spring Break to study nature for extra credit. Tracy and Christabel had begged Angie to come because she’s really good at science and they need all the help they can get, but the boys are most likely there to make sweet, high school love to their girlfriends. Except for James, that is, who Angie assumes is there to make up for missing classes while he was away.
Angie wonders out loud what’s taking James so long outside and Chip playfully teases her for having a crush on him. Angie denies it, and Melanie is quick to point out they all know Angie is a virgin [Shut the fuck up, Melanie].
Later that night, the friends leave the Holmbergs at the hostel and head to a pizza place. Angie has a teeny tiny little crush on James but tries to push her feelings down out of respect for the deceased. Speaking of, there’s a guy in the restaurant that looks just like Michael, prompting Melanie to insult the dearly departed [She is the worst. I hope she gets the most brutal death]. Angie sticks up for Michael and Christabel seems shocked that they had been friends [Because if it doesn’t directly involve Christabel, she has no interest, I guess]. Melanie continues her bitchy tirade, pointing out that she remembers how geeky Angie used to be. Our knight in shining armour, James, comes to Angie’s defence, remembering how cute she was in her ponytail and horn-rimmed glasses [James is great!].
On the drive back to the hostel, the gang is stopped at a police blockade where they’re informed a man named Amos has escaped from a mental hospital [Because we can’t have a Point Horror without red herring]. Amos used to live in the area and always mentioned coming back one day. He’d apparently stabbed someone before escaping, but the police assure the group that he was provoked into the attack and isn’t as dangerous as he sounds. They also say to humour Amos if they see him, then call the police as soon as they can [I’m sure that advice will come in handy on the secluded island they’re heading to tomorrow].
The next morning, Angie makes breakfast for everyone while the others prepare for the trip. Soon, the boys come in from getting the canoes ready to reveal that the boat shed was broken into overnight and a canoe is missing. The clique decides that Amos is responsible and hope he didn’t head to Shadow Island. James reckons Amos probably just wanted to be alone somewhere until the cops stop looking for him.
As they sit down to eat, Mrs. Holmberg totters in looking terribly sick. Apparently her and Mr. Holmberg were up all night with a mysterious illness and still haven’t recovered, so the trip is off. Seizing the chance of unsupervised alone time, the gang quickly convince her to let them go on alone. After all, they’re sooOOoO000OO00o excited to learn about the flora and fauna of Shadow Island and they can make sure everything’s set up for when the two adults are able to join them [Manipulation, I like it].
Angie expresses some concern about going by themselves, but she quickly changes her mind after some stern looks from Christabel and Melanie. After Mrs. Holmberg leaves, Christabel turns on Angie:
“If you ever pull something like that again, Angie, you can forget about hanging out with me. Don’t you ever, ever mess things up for us the way you almost just now, okay?”
[Christabel can go straight in the bin with Melanie and her frosted blue eyeshadow] A little later, the teens set off in canoes for Shadow Island, completely unsupervised and potentially at risk of being attacked by Amos [Have they forgotten about him? I’m sure he’s harmless anyway, but still]. Angie shares a canoe with Tracy and James and on the way, James brings up how he didn’t know Michael and Angie had been friends. Angie then reminisces about how close they were and we learn that even though James was such a genius, he also admired beauty, which is why Angie gave herself a makeover to get in with the popular crowd. It was all for Michael [OK, is Faas Rice is even trying to hide that Angie’s the killer? At the same time, though, it’s potentially too obvious, so I’m second guessing myself].
James pulls out a tape recorder and plays some bird noises while revealing he’s an “audio freak” [???], always recording stuff on the device and bringing it everywhere [I’m sure that tape recorder will be relevant later, but half the time I think something’s gonna be relevant in these books and it’s never mentioned again!].
Finally they arrive at Shadow Island, named so due to the shadows cast from the cliffs surrounding it. When they arrive at the cabin, it’s even more derelict than the hostel, leaving Christabel totally unimpressed [Was she expecting a five-star luxury getaway? I can’t decide who’s worse, her or Melanie]. Christabel and Melanie stay behind to sweep the cobwebs while the others head out to get some firewood. When Chip doesn’t return, they all go looking for him:
It wasn’t until we gathered around him that we noticed a large clot of blood that darkened the blond hair on the back of his skull.
[…]
Ron and James gently rolled Chip on his back. His eyes were open, but there was no flicker of movement in them.
Despite James’ attempts at mouth to mouth, poor Chip is dead [First kill, woo!]. They find a blood-covered rock and decide he must have slipped and hit his head, but Angie points out that the rock is too far away from his body for that to be the case [Lol at Angie casually dropping hints that she murdered him. Even if she didn’t point this out, they found Chip face down?]. Christabel and Melanie are super traumatised and insist his death was just an accident, and everyone drops the subject so they don’t upset the girls even more.
By this point, a storm has set in, so the gang won’t be leaving the island anytime soon. They take Chip’s body to the shed and head back to the cabin to settle in for the night. Melanie heads straight to bed while the others make some chilli and coffee. During dinner, Ron points out that if Chip’s death was an accident, he would have been face up when they found the body [Ayyyyy that’s what I said!]. Christabel scoffs at this and can’t possibly fathom that it was anything but an accident. The gang decides they’ll head home first thing in the morning to seek help, since they have no way of communication on the island [And this is the ’90s, so no phones, RIP].
After everyone goes to bed, Angie needs to pee so ventures to the outhouse on her own through the strong winds and rain [She’s obviously the killer, right? Why else would she go by herself when there’s a murderer loose?]. On her way back to the cabin, she looks out to the beach where the canoes are and wonders if Ron secured them properly so they don’t blow into the water in the storm [Subtle foreshadowing lol].
The next morning, Ron discovers the canoes are gone!
They’re not missing, though, jus floating t out of reach in the middle of the lake [Sounds like Angie made a pit stop on her way back to the cabin!]. They gang heads to the beach to investigate, and there’s not even any life jackets around, which is weird because they were underneath the canoes that Ron insists he left upside down, far enough from the shore so they couldn’t be washed away into the water.
None of them can figure out how the canoes managed to get into the water right-side up to float away [Well they didn’t just get up and walk, did they?] Angie soon spots a life jacket hanging from a tree [Probably because she put it there the night before], and they discover it’s been slashed twice to make an X [How dastardly, Angie!].
Back at the cabin, the gang finally decides there must be someone else on the island. Angie thinks whoever it is is just trying to scare them and let them know they’re being watched, but Ron gives us the cold, hard facts – Chip was face down and the rock was too far away for him to have accidentally hit his head. Finally, Christabel and Melanie accept that he was murdered.
They decide they need to find the killer before the Holmbergs arrive to prevent the two adults from being ambushed by the murderer. The gang splits up [Which as we all know is the worst possible option in this kind of situation] – James and Angie take one side of the island, Tracy and Ron take the other side and Christabel and Melanie stay with the cabin so the murderer can’t sneak inside and lock them all out.
Ron assures the two girls that they’ll be perfectly safe since they can lock the shutters closed on the windows and they can place a bar over the door. James also gives them an air horn he’d found in the boat shed, so if the murderer does come to the cabin, the other four will hear the horn and come back [That’s a smart plan, James!].
Once James and Angie are alone out in the woods, he can’t help himself and kisses her [Nothing like a murder to get the juices flowing!] Angie reluctantly gives in because she wants it just as much, but they eventually stop because it’s such bad timing. He tells her he’ll try again when they’re off the island [A non-rapey love interest? We gotta stan].
Angie then spots a figure matching Amos’ description in the distance. The stranger hops into a canoe our lovebirds were too busy smooching to notice and the pair watches as he paddles away towards the river. “We’re safe!” James cries, but his celebrations are way too early because we’re only halfway through the book [And we still have at least four more deaths to get through! Lucky this book is interesting, even if I’ve already guessed the twist].
The pair finds Ron and Tracy and tells them about Amos. The four of them try to make sense of everything that’s happened and presume that after Amos escaped the hospital, he came to the island because he was familiar with it, but then got scared when they all showed up, so he hid. They think he may have been startled by Chip and hit him with a rock in self defence, but couldn’t escape the island because of the big storm. So he got rid of their canoes and hid out until the storm and then made his escape [It’s a logical explanation so I can’t really fault them. I also love that they haven’t jumped straight to “Amos must be a murderer because he escaped a mental hospital”, which most other Point Horrors would have done].
Back at the cabin, Christabel and Melanie have let the fire go out because they didn’t want to attract attention [OK, but like, where else would a killer think you’d be? It’s the only building on the island?]. When the others arrive, Angie tends to it, but decides to clear out all the ash and starts moving it into a bucket. The bucket is heavy, so Tracy offers to help, but Angie accidentally [On purpose] spills the bucket and ash flies everywhere, making Tracy’s allergies flare up. She fetches her nasal spray to clear the stuffiness and pretty much drops dead straight after using it [Damn, I liked her, and Angie seemed to as well. Wonder if she deserved to die or was just a casualty].
The gang is horrified and assume it was a heart attack despite Tracy being the fittest and healthiest of the group. James checks the nasal spray, sniffing it but not inhaling it. It smells like bitter almonds, which he remembers is the scent of a poison that was always used in old murder mysteries. Angie points out that cyanide has that scent, and knows this because she reads a lot of murder mysteries [Nice try, Angie, you’re the murderer!] and also her dad is a pharmacist [Do pharmacists have access to cyanide? If so, that means Angie had access too! She’s the killer for sure! How are these idiots not suspicious of their new friend?].
James and Angie stash poor Tracy in the shed with Chip and Angie laments that Tracy would still be alive if she didn’t insist on coming on this trip [Come on, Angie’s dropping hints left right and centre here!]. Why oh why did she insist?! Back inside, they sit around the dining table with some nice hot tea and soon begin fighting.
I haven’t mentioned it yet, but Ron’s been getting pretty sick of Christabel’s snarky attitude on the trip and their relationship has been deteriorating, much to Angie’s surprise. Seems like Ron isn’t a puppy dog wrapped around Christabel’s finger after all [We love character development!].
Angie and James are holding hands under the table and she feels him tense up when Christabel asks him if he still carries his flask, because she feels like a stiff drink. James points out that Christabel knows very well he stopped drinking last fall. Christabel argues that what happened wasn’t their fault, and Angie has no idea what they’re talking about [Or at least pretends not to]. Christabel starts to explains that a creepy guy [Obviously Michael] got drunk at a party, but James doesn’t like her choice of words:
“That poor ‘creepy guy,’ as you call him, was tricked into getting drunk,” James said. “And then he… he… became a traffic statistic on his way home.”
“Nice way of raising it,” Melanie purred. “Is that how your doctor at the funny farm told you to look at it? As a statistic? Did that make you feel better?”
[Melanie can fuck right off lol. Also RIP Michael, or as the others know him, Creepy Guy. Don’t drink and drive, kids. We love a Point Horror with a message!] Melanie continues her bitchy tirade and Christabel accuses Ron of being less of a man because he didn’t know Amos would come to the island [??? Christabel and Melanie are both fucking idiots].
James then realises that Amos couldn’t be the killer because not only was it impossible for Amos to know about Tracy’s allergies, but since they’ve been on the island, one of them has always been inside the cabin [Which is incorrect because they all went to look for Chip yesterday, but I’ll let it slide I guess] – that means someone at the table is the killer [And it’s 100% Angie!].
Christabel instantly compares James’ depression to insanity [Yep, there’s the classic Point Horror stereotype] and accuses him of being the murderer because “insane people don’t need reasons for what they do”. Angie pipes up now – she’s sick of Christabel bringing up James’ depression every five seconds [And so am I. Kill her, Angie!].
James declares that a case can be made for each one of them to be the killer and he begins his theory with Ron. Ron and Chip were both competing for a football scholarship. Tracey worked in the principal’s office. Maybe Tracy found out Chip got the scholarship and Ron killed Chip in a jealous rage, and then killed Tracy so she wouldn’t figure it out [That’s just convoluted enough to be a Point Horror plot!].
Ron is appalled and denies it all, and Melanie wants to know what her hypothetical motive is. Angie jumps at the chance to humiliate Melanie, so she plays detective here. Chip had been eyeing the new girl at school, so she killed Chip out of jealousy. Tracy had beaten out Melanie to become head cheerleader for next year, so Melanie probably killed her out of jealousy too [Definitely wouldn’t put it past her].
Detective Melanie quickly turns the tables, suggesting Angie had a crush on Chip and killed him when he rejected her advances in the woods. Angie’s shocked by this because Chip is not her type at all, but Melanie continues with her theory, arguing that Tracy found out she’d murdered Chip, so Angie killed her to keep her quiet [Honestly, how is no-one suspecting the murders have something to do with Michael?!]. Angie points out that Tracy had plenty of time to dob her in to the others if that were the case, and Melanie declares that if anyone on the trip were a murderer, it’s Angie:
“You’re cold, Angie. Inside. Oh, sure, you act all sweet and friendly, but I’ve seen you carve up a frog in biology lab.”
[Hahahahaha shut up, Melanie]. Angie finds this as hilarious as I do and asserts that her interest in science doesn’t make her a murderer [Good save, Angie!].
Ron turns Christabel’s insanity theory back onto her, suggesting she’s the murderer simply because she insane. James puts a stop to everyone’s Sherlock shenanigans and suggests they all stay together until the Holmbergs arrive, which he assumes won’t be any earlier than about 2pm tomorrow, factoring in their illness and how long it would take to get to the cabin. Ron suggests they use the flare gun he brought from the canoes, but James reckons there’s no point because no-one will see it through the storm [I feel like James is getting the red herring treatment since he knows so much about everything, but I’m not falling for it].
Angie realises they’ll need to collect firewood ASAP so it has time to dry if they want to keep warm for tomorrow. Scarred by their experience clearing the outhouse of cobwebs the day before, Melanie and Christabel decide to collect firewood with the boys and Angie offers to stay behind to cook a meal for everyone, insisting she’ll be fine on her own with the air horn and the doors locked.
The others aren’t as smart as me and haven’t realised Angie’s the killer, so they head off in gendered pairs. A little while later, Ron returns and finds the door unlocked. Angie says she must have forgotten and asks what he’s looking for as he rummages through the gear they brought. Ron explains he lied to James about needing to use the outhouse so he could sneak back and grab the flare gun. He wants to set it off and reckons James will be fine about it once help arrives. He sets out again, flare gun in hand, but when everyone comes back with the firewood, they realise Ron is missing.
Angie tells them Ron had come back to get the flare gun, and James explains Ron never returned to him. He does remember hearing a popping sound coming from the beach, though, so off they go. They discover Ron face down in the sand with the back of his head blown out [Was hoping for something like Claire’s death in ‘Sorority Row’ but this will do. Regardless, I’m loving all these murders, so this could be my favourite Point Horror ever!].
Angie picks up the nearby flare gun and is scolded by James because now her fingerprints will be all over the murder weapon [Sweet, naïve James – they were already all over it!]. The remaining four start pointing fingers at each other as it’s revealed everyone had been alone at some point while collecting firewood – James was alone when Ron went to get the flare gun and Christabel was left alone when Melanie disappeared for a bathroom break.
Christabel and Melanie decide to stick together and run back to the cabin. James and Angie give chase but unfortunately for them, the two girls have locked them out. It doesn’t last long, though, because Angie makes the two bitches realise they could be locked in with a killer. The door is unlocked and the foursome decide to stick together [I wonder how long this’ll last].
James is hungry, so he and Angie dig into the sandwiches she’d prepared earlier while Christabel and Melanie make their own, not trusting Angie [Good thinking, but I still want them to die]. As they eat, Christabel remembers the cyanide – it’s probably still in the killer’s belongings! Angie suggests the killer probably threw it into the woods already [She’s literally telling these idiots what she’s done and no-one even realises]. They decide to search everyone’s stuff anyway, but there’s no cyanide to be found.
They all sleep in front of the fire that night, and a thought crosses Angie’s tired mind – why hadn’t James thought of looking for the cyanide already, right after Tracy died, since he thinks of everything? [I’m assuming this is supposed to make us suspicious of James but it’s such stupid logic. And if I’m right and Angie is the killer, it can easily be explained as just a random thought she had rather than her considering James a suspect].
The next morning, Angie pours some tea for the gang and they snack on some Pop-Tarts, which require no preparation and are individually sealed, so any tampering would be obvious. Angie tries to hand Christabel her mug of tea, but Christabel says that one’s Melanie’s mug, not hers [I guess we’re supposed to be suspicious of Christabel now, but we know better, don’t we?]. Angie expresses some concern about her fingerprints being on the flare gun, but James reassures her they’ll all tell the police it’s only because she carried it back to the cabin [But surely she’s planning on killing them all?].
Melanie begins acting strangely, laughing maniacally and talking about a butler or a ghost being the killer, like in the movies, so Angie slaps her on each cheek to shut her up [Hahahahahaha it’s been a long time coming]. Melanie hasn’t touched her tea yet, so Christabel hands it to her again, hoping it will calm her down. After a few big sips, Melanie begins choking:
Melanie’s face seemed suffused with blood. Her lips twisted and turned blue. Her eyes stared angrily, accusingly, at us. Then she fell from the chair.
[…]
I went to Melanie. Her eyes were still open, and she was twitching slightly. But then the twitching ceased.
[Melanie should have gotten Ron’s death. She deserved something way more brutal than boring old poison. But on the other hand, she would have known she was about to die, so poison is arguably worse]. James quickly blames Christabel for Melanie’s death and Angie follows suit. Christabel accuses them of conspiring against her and grabs the unloaded flare gun, loading it with a flare she’d stashed the night before while everyone was sleeping. Holding them at flare point, she makes her way outside and heads off into the woods.
Locking themselves in the cabin, James and Angie discuss how insane Christabel must be to have been able to act completely normal while killing her friends. They realise Christabel must have had the cyanide hidden on her body and poisoned Melanie’s mug when Angie tried to hand it to her.
Angie and James suspect that Christabel plans to ambush the Holmbergs when they arrive, shooting Mr. Holmberg with the single flare and overpowering his wife. James decides he’ll go search for Christabel so he can sneak up on her and attack. Angie is worried Christabel will kill him [Which would make Angie’s job much easier], but our noble hero heads out anyway.
He returns after a while, claiming he couldn’t find Christabel and planning to head straight back out. Angie wants to come too, arming herself with a small paring knife they’d used earlier to cut fruit. James tells her it’s probably too dull to use as a weapon, but Angie reckons she’ll feel safer with it [Is there cyanide on it?].
They set out, this time heading in the opposite direction to the beach, and eventually find Christabel’s dead body slumped against a tree [I mean, is anyone really surprised?] Angie snatches up the flare gun and circles around James and he finally catches on to what I’ve been saying this whole time – Angie’s the damn killer!
Angie reveals she’d dipped the paring knife in curare, a poison used by Indians on their arrows, and then cut Christabel with it. “It really comes in handy to have a daddy who owns a string of pharmacies,” she gloats [I bloody knew it!]. Apparently curare is only fatal when it reaches the bloodstream, so is used safely in oral medication.
Angie promises to kill James quickly with the curare if he behaves instead of a painful death with the flare gun, but James seems calm, standing with his hand in his pocket, all casual. He demands to know why Angie killed everyone before he dies because she at least owes him that. Cue that bad guy monologue! Unsurprisingly, it all has to do with Michael:
“You took advantage of Michael’s innocence. You five – Ron, Christabel, Melanie, Chip, and you – deliberately got Michael drunk at a stupid party and then put him in his car and let him drive home. Except that he never reached home, did he? He drove off a cliff and was burnt to death when the car exploded.”
James protests he had no part in forcing Michael to drink or drive, but Angie argues that he just stood by let it happen. Tracy, however, was an innocent bystander – she wasn’t at the party, but had insisted on coming on the camping trip, and Angie couldn’t leave any survivors for her plan to work [So Michael isn’t responsible for his own death, but Tracy’s responsible for hers? Not liking these double standards, Angie].
Angie had laced the Holmbergs’ hot cocoa with super-strong laxatives the night before they were heading to Shadow Island to get them out of the way, then set about offing her friends over the next few days, sabotaging the canoes so they were completely isolated.
Ultimately, Angie’s plan is to frame James for the murders, claiming he’d had another nervous breakdown:
“I’ll be pale and dishevelled, but still beautiful. The lovely, innocent schoolgirl who has miraculously survived death. Your body will be there, beside Christabel’s. You killed her with the poisoned knife and tried to use it on me. We struggled, and you got cut. It was self defence, pure and simple. I’ll even rip my shirt and bruise myself with a rock to make it look realistic.”
[She’s really thought of everything!] James looks at something over her shoulder, but Angie thinks he’s just trying to trick her. But when he yells out, seemingly to get someone’s attention, she moves around behind him, still pointing the gun, and in the distance spots the Holmbergs, a lot earlier than Angie had planned for.
The Holmbergs start heading towards them, so Angie changes her plan – she wipes her fingerprints off the weapons and throws them to the ground before ripping her shirt. She realises it’ll be her word against James’ and since he’s had a nervous breakdown in the past, she reckons everyone will believe her [Ugh I thought Angie was better than this. I guess this book needed one Point Horror stereotype!].
That’s when James brings out the tape recorder from his pocket – he’d recorded her whole bad guy monologue! He’d taken it with him when he went looking for Christabel, hoping that if something happened to him, no-one could blame Angie, and the book finishes with this:
“I guess you forgot I was an audio freak.”
I had to clear my throat before I could get my voice under control.
“Yes, you’re an audio freak and I’m a science nerd. The freaks,” I said with rising hysteria, “have triumphed over the nerds.”
Hot tears were streaming down my cheeks as the Holmbergs came toward us, calling our names.
Final thoughts
I loved this book! It was exactly like a slasher movie, which is my favourite subgenre of horror, but in book form. Even though it was super predictable, which would usually ruin a book, it kept my interest and it was entirely plausible for Angie to have been the killer the whole time, unlike in The Roommate, where Danni’s thoughts and actions didn’t always make sense with her being the bad guy.
Class Trip also touched on some serious issues, like drink-driving and mental health, which was handled quite tastefully for the most part.
I know there’s a standalone sequel to this book too, but I’ve never read it and don’t currently own it, so I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out.
98 curare-dipped knives out of 10!
