Tagline: There’s no turning back….Back tagline: Accidents can happen….
Summary: Natalie Erickson and her friends share a terrible secret. They were all in the car that foggy night—the night someone died at the dead end.
Now someone knows too much, and there’s danger ahead. Natalie just wants out of this nightmare. But that’s the problem with dead ends—there’s no way out!
First impressions: I’ve said it several times by now, but I’m a real sucker for the sort of plot where a bunch of friends share a terrible secret and start getting killed off. This cover isn’t very interesting, but at the same time I really wanna know what she’s looking at. Let’s find out! [And don’t forget to listen to me and Hannah discuss Dead End on the Fear Street Book Club podcast!]
Recap
As usual, we’ll start with a roll call:
Natalie – Our heroine who’s torn between what’s right and protecting the gang.
Keith – Natalie’s boyfriend who she doesn’t seem to like that much.
Randee – Natalie’s best friend who’s driving the night of the dead end incident.
Carlo – Another friend who struggles with the secret.
Gillian – Another friend who’s also not coping after the incident.
Todd – A misogynist who intimidates the group into keeping quiet.
[Oooh, this one’s told in first person! It’s been a while since we’ve had that!] We begin with a prologue where our protagonist, Natalie Erickson, explains she’s a bit of a klutz and quite accident prone, and while her dad would be mad about it [Calm down m8], her mother would always calmly say ‘”Accidents will happen,”‘ [OK], a phrase Natalie would repeat to herself the night of the accident at the dead end road [Note from future: The fact that she’s a klutz is literally never brought up again so I don’t know what the point is. Filling pages?].
We jump to the main story now, where Natalie’s just arrived at a house party hosted by Talia [From The Thrill Club, which I haven’t recapped yet]. There’s a shitload of namedropping of other Fear Street protagonists who also in attendance, like Corky Corcoran, Ricky Schorr and Pete Goodwin, and Janie Simpson [From the Cheerleaders series, The Overnight and The New Boy respectively], and as Natalie enjoys the party, we learn some boys from another school have brought beer [And we all know how most Shadyside teens feel about underage drinking!].
Natalie’s boyfriend, Keith, heads upstairs for a beer, much to her dismay, because she hates when he drinks. He encourages her to have one too, but she hates beer – ‘”It tastes like soap!”‘ [No, it tastes like wood soaked in piss!]. Randee, Natalie’s best friend who’s ‘not really pretty’ and wears braces ‘even though she’s seventeen’ [I don’t see the issue here, Natalie], approaches and they watch on as their friend Gillian bumps and grinds with another friend, Carlo, who Natalie suspects has feelings for Gillian. Rounding out our main group is Todd, a jock type who Randee’s crushing on. All of a sudden there’s a horrible scream and someone tumbles down the stairs [!!!].
It’s just a very drunk Keith, who’s perfectly fine but dashes to the toilet for a tactical vomit while Todd teases Natalie about how Keith can’t even handle half a can of beer [Wow, Keith, what a loserrrrr]. Todd has Stine’s favourite hair colour, white-blonde, and ‘he’d actually be kind of good looking, if his forehead didn’t jut out so far’ [Does Natalie think any of her friends are attractive?!]. Some kids have nicknamed him Caveman because of his forehead, behind his back of course, because ‘he’d pound them’ if he found out – he’s so vain that he bashed someone for stepping on his sneaker once [Todd sounds awful].
Natalie’s not happy with Keith’s intoxication and by the time the party’s over, she refuses to be driven home by him, even though he claims to be Sober Sally now. She tells him not to follow her and storms outside where she spots Randee about to give Todd, Carlo and Gillian a ride. She manages to scab one too, urging Randee to hurry because here comes Keith yelling for Natalie to wait [Hahahaha does she actually like her boyfriend or??? Good on her for not letting him drive her home if he’s drunk (Although she’s apparently fine with him driving himself??), but she doesn’t need to be this rude about it hahaha]. In the car, Todd teases Natalie some more about Keith’s inability to keep his liquor down, but she doesn’t find the situation the least bit funny:
I’m not a goody-goody or anything. But I didn’t like being ignored by Keith all night. And I just don’t see the point of soaking down beers until you throw up.
[What’s the weather like all the way up there on your pedestal, Natalie?]. Meanwhile, Randee’s struggling behind the wheel and Natalie remembers she was also upstairs for a while, possibly drinking as well [Naughty girl], but Randee blames her poor driving on the heavy fog and slippery roads. Instead of slowing down to make up for the poor conditions, she speeds up [Yes, because if you can’t see properly and the roads are slippery, the best thing to do is drive faster. Randee’s stupid and so is the spelling of her name].
She heads to Todd’s first, claiming she knows the way when he tries to direct her, but the idiot misses the left turn onto his road and plows straight into a parked car at a dead end [Hence the name of the book!]. Everyone’s fine, but Natalie’s sure she saw someone in the other car. Instead of checking, Randee just drives off [Omg Randee what r u doing?!] because she can’t stop. Don’t you understand?! She just can’t! Wanna know why? Because she’s been grounded for two weeks, wasn’t supposed to be at the party and definitely wasn’t supposed to have the car [Woooow, this girl really just potentially killed someone and she’s worried about being grounded? Hope she dies xx].
Gillian’s parents would also kill her if they knew she was out because she’s supposed to be studying for a chemistry exam, while Todd’s dad just got a job in PR for the mayor’s office and had warned Todd not to get in trouble, so he’d just pound him if he found out [I absolutely love how pounding was used as a synonym for bashing in the ’90s, it’s so funny to me hahaha]. Natalie insists they should go back, but it’s four against one after Randee reminds Carlo that his hospitalised father doesn’t need this sort of bad news right now [I see right through you, Randee, you’re only looking out for yourself!]. Randee then checks the damage on her car before dropping everyone off:
“Just one scratch on the bumper,” she reported. “That’s why Dad bought this car. Because it’s so tough and so safe.”
[Are Volvos really that strong? I have no idea about cars but that doesn’t seem right to me]. Since everyone’s fine, she insists that if there was someone in the other car, they’re probably completely fine too [We’ll just see about that, Randee!]. Unfortunately, Todd calls Natalie the next morning with some very bad news – the woman in the other car is dead [Oh no! What was she even doing in the car that late anyway? The car was obviously turned off if they didn’t see any lights on, so why was she just sitting in there?].
Todd found out the news through his father, because the woman just so happened to be the mayor’s sister, and Mayor Coletti has vowed to do everything he can to find who’s responsible for the hit-and-run. Natalie is mortified and can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if they’d stopped to check the other car. Would she have lived? Natalie wishes she could turn back time and have another chance [Unfortunately that’s not how life works, hun].
Keith calls soon after, presumably to apologise for getting sloshed last night, but Natalie’s in no mood for him [I really think she hates him]. He does this all the time apparently – makes a mistake and gets her so angry she considers breaking up with him, but then he apologises 2848383993 times the next morning until she promises not to be mad anymore [OK, I can sympathise with her now, I definitely don’t have the patience to tolerate that either]. She tells him she can’t talk and promises to call him later.
Later that afternoon, Natalie, Randee, Gillian, Carlo and and Todd meet in the woods behind the school to discuss the accident, but there’s nothing new to report except that Mayor Coletti is offering a reward for anyone with information about the hit-and-run. Carlo thinks they should own up to what they did since they’ll most likely be caught at some point anyway and the police will likely go easier on them if they come forward. Todd doesn’t like this, and everyone’s super shocked at how angry he suddenly gets as he threatens to kill Carlo if he snitches on them [I vote we pin the whole thing on Todd and get him out of our lives!].
The others manage to calm Todd down and he apologises, basically explaining he’s scared of what his dad will do to him if he finds out [His dad has serious anger issues apparently! Like father, like son, Todd?]. Carlo still thinks they should go to the police and although Natalie knows it’s the right thing to do, Randee was the one driving and Natalie can’t just turn her best friend in if Randee doesn’t want to confess herself:
And if we did go, what good would it do?
If we confessed, it wouldn’t bring the mayor’s sister back to life.
And we already learned our lesson. Our fear, our unhappiness was punishment enough.
Going to the police would ruin our lives. And it wouldn’t help anyone in any way.
[It’d help the Coletti family find closure but who cares about the victim’s family, right, Natalie?]. They decide they’ll be fine as long as they stick together, while Todd can keep getting information from his dad about the investigation. In the meantime, they’ll just have to hope and pray no-one saw them or recognises the car. They make a secret vow not to tell anyone, particularly Keith who can’t keep a secret [Same lol].
Later that night, Natalie tries to get her mind off the accident by writing a poem, but she’s not in a very poetic mood. Keith had called while she’d been with the others earlier and she’s yet to call him back, so she’s super surprised when she turns around and finds him standing in the doorway, her mother having let him in [Why do characters in books and movies just stand there watching for ages instead of announcing themselves? Does anyone do this in real life?]. He demands that they talk right this minute because he knows her secret [!!!!].
No, not that secret. Her secret wish to break up with him and go out with Todd that he’s completely made up in his mind [Keith plz]! She reassures him he’s completely wrong, but knows if he stays too long she won’t be able to stop herself from breaking the vow and spilling the beans about the accident, so she gives him some affection and kicks him out [OK I guess she likes him again].
Over the next week, Natalie’s too busy studying for exams to worry about the accident. Luckily for the group, the cops aren’t any closer to finding out who killed the mayor’s sister, but that’s just making Coletti more determined, and he’s now offering a special bonus to any officer who finds an important clue.
On Friday night, Todd calls Natalie with news that Carlo’s planning on going to the police and orders her to meet him, Gillian and Randee at Pete’s Pizza in 15 minutes. Once there, Gillian explains how she begged and pleaded with Carlo to change his mind, but he wouldn’t budge because the secret is killing him [Poor Carlo :(]. Todd suggests that ‘”Maybe Carlo has to have an accident, too”‘, which makes all three girls gasp in horror, and Todd smiles suspiciously as he claims he was just joking [I guess Carlo’s gonna die. Todd’s definitely a red herring though].
Early the next morning, Natalie, Gillian, Randee and Todd head to Carlo’s uncle’s lodge, where every winter Carlo invites a bunch of friends to spend the night [Sounds like fun!]. Keith’s unable to come this year because of family commitments, and as they drive, Todd reminisces about how Uncle George took the boys hunting last year while Gillian complains that the girls were stuck behind at the lodge:
“Girls don’t hunt,” Todd told her. “Girls stay home and wait for the men to bring home the food.”
What a Neanderthal! I think he was actually serious.
[Disappointed but not surprised about another misogynist Shadyside boy]. Randee reckons she’d be a better hunter than Todd and tells the gang about how at a carnival last summer, she was so good at hitting the moving targets at the shooting gallery that her parents teased her for days, saying she ‘”had a real killer instinct”‘ [Did the hit-and-run give Randee a taste for blood and now she wants more? Or is she just another red herring?].
At the lodge, the four of them eat breakfast with Carlo and Uncle George, and Natalie notices that Carlo is more quiet than usual and looks super sullen. She also notices him and Gillian glancing at each other a lot, but has no idea what that’s all about [Spill the tea, sis!]. After breakfast, it’s hunting time! Natalie and Gillian agree to go along for the walk and are surprised that Randee’s planning on hunting with the guys [She’s not like regular girls xx].
As they set off, Todd’s gun accidentally goes off, but luckily no-one is hurt [For now…]. As they venture further into the woods, Natalie remembers how in third grade she got lost in a forest on a class trip and had spent the night alone in the woods until rangers found her the next morning. Since then, she’s always been afraid of the woods, but that doesn’t stop her from daydreaming. She finally snaps back to reality when she hears a gunshot and is horrified to see she’s all alone [What, her friends didn’t tell her they were moving on?].
She decides it’ll be easier to head back to the lodge and as she makes her way there, she hears another gunshot up ahead. This somehow makes her realise she’s walking the wrong way, so she turns around and after walking down a path for a little while, she stumbles upon Carlo’s body sprawled out on the ground:
Then I recognized Carlo’s denim jacket. Splattered with dark blood.
And at the collar of the jacket… at the collar… At the dark-stained collar…
The bright red pulp…
The shattered shards of gray bone…
Nothing at the collar… nothing but bone and blood… Nothing…
And without realising it, a shrill voice tore from my throat. And I started to scream: “Where is his head? Where is his head?”
[Do you think there’s enough ellipses in there?] Todd’s also standing there, seemingly in shock with his gun tossed to the ground nearby, but suddenly his eyes lock on Natalie’s and he tells her not to tell anyone about the car accident last week and insists that this gory scene has nothing to do with it [As suss as Todd is, it’s also too obvious for him to be our bad guy].
The next day, Natalie reads in the paper that Carlo’s death has been ruled an accident – apparently Carlo had tripped on a tree root and got his head blown off when the ‘shotgun stock banged against the tree trunk’. Natalie remembers Todd suggesting Carlo needs to have his own accident and wonders if maybe he was responsible [If Todd did murder Carlo, I guess he could have got his dad to use his connections to get the death ruled an accident or something, maybe?].
Natalie’s home alone in her room that afternoon when Todd bursts through her bedroom door to attack her [!!!!!]. Except it’s just Keith, here to comfort her after hearing about Carlo’s death. A distraught Natalie can’t help herself and breaks the vow of silence, telling Keith everything, beginning from the moment she got in Randee’s car that fateful night. She also tells Keith she believes that Todd murdered Carlo since the night before he’d said Carlo would have an accident.
Before they can discuss it any further, there’s a knock at the front door. It’s Todd, looking all dishevelled and wanting to talk. Natalie’s super scared of Todd by now so doesn’t want him in her house, and she doesn’t buy for one second his claims of being really messed up after Carlo’s death. Once again, she can’t help herself and flat out asks Todd if her murdered their friend, and to her surprise, Todd admits it [!!!!].
But he’s being sarcastic of course [Gotta get those cliffhanger chapter endings!], and is pretty hurt that she would even ask him such a question [I mean, you did imply Carlo needed to die, so it’s not that farfetched]. He makes Natalie feel guilty for even thinking it, but she suspects he’s just acting to throw her off the scent [And the fact that she’s suspicious of him makes me 100% certain he’s not our bad guy. At the moment, I’m thinking Randee and her killer instinct. She was the one driving when they killed that woman after all, so she’d suffer the worst consequences if they’re caught]. Before he leaves, Todd reminds Natalie that he wasn’t the only one in the woods with a gun that day [Randee had a gun, but now she’s also too obvious to be the bad guy!].
On Thursday, two days after Carlo’s funeral, Natalie and Randee are at Gillian’s house to study and also help cheer her up, since she was Carlo’s closest friend. First we get some gossip, though, with all three girls in disbelief about ‘”the lip lock Gina Marks had on Bobby Newkirk“‘ after school today [Who the hell is Gina Marks?]. Gillian doesn’t understand why Gina’s so nuts about Bobby since he’s such a pig, and I couldn’t agree more.
Randee mentions that she’s going on a date with Todd on Saturday night and then starts getting all defensive about him without Natalie even saying anything [The lady doth protest too much, Randee]. This gets Natalie thinking about what Todd had said the other night at her house – Randee was the only other person with a gun at the lodge, but surely Randee, her best friend, hadn’t killed Carlo [Why not? She already killed the mayor’s sister].
Since Carlo’s funeral, where Todd and Randee had huddled so close together, Natalie began to suspect that they’d killed Carlo together since they’re both so desperate to keep the car accident a secret. She immediately felt guilty about it though, since these are two people she’s known practically her whole life, but try as she might, she hasn’t been able to fully convince herself that Carlo’s death was simply an accident [Ok, so either Carlo actually did accidentally kill himself or, going by the normal Fear Street/Point Horror formula where the most obvious suspects are just red herrings, Gillian or Keith is our bad guy? But neither of them have really been that relevant to the story. I’m hating that I can’t work it out, but also love the mystery of it because I’m so used to knowing the ending within the first half of the book].
When the girls finally to start studying, Gillian brings over her backpack, where they quickly notice a nasty stench emanating from inside. Opening it up, they find a piece of rotten meat crawling with maggots as well as a note:
YOU CAN BE CLOSE TO CARLO AGAIN. IN THE GRAVE.
THIS IS YOU. DEAD MEAT. IF YOU TALK.
They try to work out who could have done such a thing, but since Gillian had left her bag unattended in both the music room and the gym at school that day, it really could have been anyone [Well, anyone who knows about the accident…]. Naturally, Natalie suspects Todd, but Randee is quick to defend him which only strengthens Natalie’s suspicions that they’re working together, or at least Randee knows something more than she’s letting on. Natalie also reveals Keith knows everything, and while Gillian’s fine with it, Randee’s super mad and can’t believe Natalie told him.
Keith soon arrives to take Natalie home and she’s relieved to be out of there, unable to take the tension and suspicion that’s marred the three girls’ close friendship. In the car, Keith denies telling anyone anything and explains that according to the news, the investigation will be over soon because the police still can’t find any clues [Do the police just give up after two weeks like that?].
At the end of the school day on Friday, Gillian’s waiting at Natalie’s locker, clearly upset. She explains that much like Carlo, the secret is driving her crazy and she plans on going to the police. Again, Natalie’s torn between doing the right thing and saving her skin, but she doesn’t say anything and let’s Gillian continue on:
“I can hear his voice, Natalie,” Gillian replied. “I hear Carlo. I hear him right now. He’s telling me to do what he planned to do. To go tell the police the truth.”
“But, Gillian —” I put a hand on her shoulder.
She brushed it away. “There’s so much you don’t know, Natalie,” she said, locking her eyes on mine. “The night before we went to the hunting lodge, Carlo and I had a long talk. He told me everything. Everything. It’s not what you think. It —”
[Poor Gillian! The secret vow and Carlo’s death is really getting to her] Instead of telling Natalie what Carlo told her, Gillian just says all of them will be better off when the police know. The girls hear a cough from around the corner and upon investigation, Natalie finds Todd and Randee standing there with tense, thoughtful expressions. Did they hear what Gillian said?!? [Bloody eavesdroppers].
That night, Natalie and Keith have a cute date at the skating rink where Natalie tells tells him about Gillian’s plan. Keith urges Natalie to change Gillian’s mind, since they’ll be home free once the investigation is over, but Natalie’s still torn between what’s morally right and ruining all their lives over an accident. When she brings up how Gillian said Carlo had told her things, Keith’s keen to know exactly what Carlo had said [I think we’ve found our bad guy]. Natalie has no idea, of course, and asks Keith if maybe Carlo told him anything before she had, which he denies [I don’t trust him].
Shortly after, Keith has lost the mood for skating and wants to leave, but Natalie wants to keep skating so he heads off without her [He’s definitely gone to kill Gillian!! But why though? Is he trying to keep Natalie safe from any repercussions of their crime, or is there something more going on?]. When Natalie finally begins walking home later, she hears someone following her and starts bolting [!!!].
It’s only Todd and Randee though, who claim she mustn’t have heard them calling and that they only chased her because she was running away from them [Hahahaha good point]. They want Natalie to come with them to Gillian’s to convince her to stay quiet, since she’ll listen to Natalie. Natalie seems fine to let Gillian do whatever she thinks is best, but agrees to go with them anyway, although she still thinks they’re killers.
There’s no answer at Gillian’s door, but the lights are on. The gang knows her parents are away tonight but Gillian should be home, and while peeking through a window, Natalie spots Gillian sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs [Oh no! ;(]. Dashing inside, they find the poor girl dead with her neck broken in such a way that ‘her head was completely turned around’ [Like, 180 degrees? Poor Gillian].
Todd calls her death ‘”another horrible accident”‘ which is also what the police rule it, but in bed that night, Natalie decides Todd and Randee are definitely responsible for their friends’ deaths [So we know it’s definitely not them, which only leaves Keith! But what’s his motive?]. She decides they must have killed Gillian, then come to the skating rink to take Natalie back to Gillian’s so the three of them could discover her corpse together. Natalie feels she’s got no choice but to go to the police and tell them everything.
Just as she’s about to leave for the police station the next morning, Randee rocks up, and Natalie reveals her plan [Natalie, keep that to yourself! You know what happened to the last two people who had that same plan!]. Randee claims she’s also decided to go the police and insists they go in her car, since the police will want to look at it because it was involved in the original accident. Although she thinks Randee’s a murderer, Natalie can’t think of an excuse to not get in the car [You could have literally thought of anything, Natalie].
As they drive, Randee seems genuinely upset by everything that’s happened and Natalie starts to wonder if Randee’s innocent after all. That thought vanishes pretty quickly when Randee turns right towards Fear Street instead of left towards town [And that seems to be our only connection to Fear Street for this book].
It’s just another fake-out chapter ending though, with Randee just too spaced out to realise where she’s going [Should you be driving right now then?]. She quickly does a U-turn and not long after, they arrive at the police station. Inside, they confess to Lieutenant Frazer that they killed the mayor’s sister and follow him outside so he can inspect Randee’s car. To the girls’ surprise, he thinks they’re pulling some kind of prank on him!
Back inside the station, he explains that the car they’re looking for was blue, not green like Randee’s Volvo [OK, I’ve figured out the motive. Keith must have been too drunk to drive but drove anyway, probably followed them that night and hit the car after they did? Now he’s trying to keep them all quiet so no-one figures out he was actually responsible!], according to paint particles found on Ellen Coletti’s car [We finally have her first name lol], and the culprit’s car’s tyre tracks had shown one was skinny and one was wide, which implies one was a spare tyre [Natalie’s too dazed to pay attention, only catching bits and pieces, so I think that’s what he’s saying].
Natalie starts to tell him about her friends’ deaths, too, but a glance from Randee tells her to leave it for now, and Lieutenant Frazer dismisses them after telling them he’ll need to have a discussion with their parents, because their hit-and-run is still a crime.
Outside the police station, Todd appears up ahead and Randee reveals to Natalie that she’d told him earlier of her own plan to go to the police. He starts scolding them for telling the cops, but the girls explain their innocence. Randee insists they all to go back to her place to talk about it, but Natalie still doesn’t trust her remaining friends over Carlo’s and Gillian’s deaths and wants to be alone for a while. She walks home instead of getting a lift and finds Keith waiting on her porch. She’s soooOO00OO0oo00oooO relieved to see him and tells him what she and Randee had just found out, and that’s when she notices his car:
The car was blue. Sky blue.
I lowered my gaze to the dented bumper with its rusted chrome. And then to the tires.
I let out a low gasp when I saw that the tiny spare tire was still on the right front wheel.
One wide tire and one skinny tire.
Lieutenant phrases black-and-white photo burst into my mind. I saw the tire tracks on the muddy road.
One wide track and one skinny.
A blue car…
Noticing her epiphany, Keith orders her into the car, insisting he just wants to explain and won’t hurt her. She wants to hear it, so she willingly gets in. As they drive, Keith reveals what I’ve already worked out – he was drunk, chased after Natalie in his own car, missed a turn and slammed into Ellen Coletti’s parked car:
“I was in a total panic,” he said finally. “I got out of the car. I saw that the woman was dead. I hit her car so hard. Her head went through the windshield. Part of her face—it was completely torn off. There was blood everywhere. Everywhere.”
[Oooh, a bit of gore. Why didn’t Ellen get out of the car after the first hit-and-run though? Why was she even in the car that late?]. Since no-one was around he just drove off, but he needed to speak to someone. And the next day when Natalie refused to talk to him on the phone, he ended up confessing to Carlo. Carlo urged Keith to go to the police, and when it all got to much for him, he told Keith he’d go to the cops himself:
“I was out of my head,” Keith continued. “I was so scared. I didn’t want my whole life ruined. I was so crazed, I was ready to do anything. Anything. And then I talked to you, Natalie.”
“Me?” I cried. “About killing Carlo?”
“No.” Keith shook his head. “You told me about Todd. You told me that Todd had threatened to kill Carlo. That Todd thought Carlo should have an accident. So then I knew that I could shut Carlo up for good. And everyone would blame Todd.”
[Umm no, Natalie didn’t tell Keith what Todd said until the day after Carlo died. His motive for killing Carlo was something he found out after he’d already killed him… This is such a huge plot hole, how did Stine not realise this? Surely I’m not the first person to notice this]. Anyway, Carlo had told Gillian everything as well, so she also had to die when she decided she’d go to the police despite Keith’s rotten meat warning. And now Natalie must die because she knows the truth [Bet you’re regretting not going back to Randee’s now, huh Natalie?].
Keith’s been heading towards a big cliff this whole time, and now he’s planning on speeding towards it and jumping out at the last second, letting Natalie fall with the car to the ground below [But… Natalie can just jump out too? She’s not tied up or anything, she’s literally just sitting there? What kind of a plan is this? I don’t understand]. As they pass a dead end sign just before the cliff, the tiny spare tyre on Keith’s car blows and he slams on the breaks as the car spins out of control.
With the car slowing down, Natalie jumps out of the car [See? Wtf was his plan?], but due to a dodgy door handle on the driver’s side that Keith’s complained about several times, he’s unable to save himself before the car tumbles over the cliff [But this is another plot hole because throughout the book, the door handle has only gotten stuck when trying to open it from outside. Each time Natalie’s gotten in the car with Keith, she’s had to open the driver’s door for him from inside. So now all of a sudden he can’t open it from inside the car? What the hell is going on with these last few chapters?!].
A few seconds later, Natalie hears a crash followed by an explosion as a ‘fiery ball of bright yellow’ rises into the air, and the book pretty much ends there as Natalie accepts that the whole ordeal from the last few weeks is over and this is ‘the end of the horror. The Dead End’ [Bringing it back to the title, noice!].
Final thoughts
I was enjoying this book until right at the end. It really feels like Stine spent so much time building the story, realised it was getting too long and then just rushed an ending inside 10 pages? I don’t understand how no-one thought to revise this and I can’t get over it for some reason hahaha. Anyway, besides that it was a decent read. I don’t think it’ll be a memorable one, which sucks because I thought from the blurb I’d really like it. I enjoyed how I didn’t guess the bad guy until the skating rink near the end, although in my defence I had considered Keith, but he was such a nothing character until then it didn’t seem right. Oh well, I still figured it out before Natalie, hehe.
I liked Natalie as a protagonist and I liked how she was constantly unable to decide whether going to the police was a good idea or not. We love character development! The other characters could have been fleshed out way more, and although we spent considerably less time with Gillian and Carlo, I preferred them way more than Randee, Todd and Keith.
I’d still love to know what the hell Ellen Coletti was doing in her car so late that night. Like, fair enough if she was just getting home when Randee hit her, but several minutes would have past by the time Keith had come by. Surely she would have gotten out?? Oh well.
63 door handles that suddenly can’t be opened from inside when it was the outside one that didn’t work out of 92!
