Review Detail

Wicked Dead: Lurker, is the first book in the Wicked Dead series by Stefan Petrucha and Thomas Pendleton. The premise of the series is that four ghostly girls get together every night in an abandoned orphanage to tell ghost stories, and each book in the series reveals a different night and a different story.

Tonights story is about Mandy, a girl who has a pretty great life in a nice town. Shes pretty, has her two best friends, a hot jock boyfriend, and so many wonderful plans for the future. But when Nicki Bennington, a fun jokester girl that everyone liked, is murdered, the entire town is shocked. How could such a gruesome murder happen in their quaint little town? Who in the world would do such a thing? Mandy and all of her friends at school attend a candlelight vigil in Nickis honor, and after a week or two of mourning, everyone seems ready to move on with their lives. Mandy knows that its time to move on too, even though a part of her is still depressed that Nicki is going to miss out on so many wonderful experiences.

Mandy has a newfound attitude of embracing each day, and so when she receives a mysterious instant message from a boy named Kyle, she thinks nothing of it. She should open herself up and meet new people, right? And since she just broke up with her boyfriend, Dale, its not like shes cheating on him or anything. Kyle sends her a picture of himself, and he is definitely a certified hottie. Mandy hasnt seen him around town because hes homeschooled, but when they chat online, hes seems so funny, sweet, and intelligent. Mandy tells her best friends about him, and they all agree that she should meet him. But what if Kyle isnt the person that he seems to be?

I love a good thriller, and a horror story that can send chills up my spine. Lurker really didnt seem to do either of these. The plot was pretty predictable, and bringing supernatural elements into the story at the end ruined the rest of the story, which seemed so realistic. I really loved the premise of having the ghostly girls tell the story though, it makes readers wonder so much about the past of the girls, and how they came to be in the abandoned orphanage, and why are they so scared of their headmistress? Hopefully, this plot will be slowly revealed over the course of series. I liked that Lurker tried to touch on dangers that are close to home, illustrating the peril of some acts that we normally think of as harmless, such as instant messaging. While Petrucha and Pendleton had a very good idea with this book, I think they could have done a better job creating a more frightening plot, especially with a stronger ending. Im looking forward to seeing how this horror series progresses in their next book, Torn.