Why am I passionate about this?
Locked room thrillers are what I like to read and write best. Out of my four published novels, two include locked rooms. Gated takes place in a community with an apocalyptic bunker and Flight 171 takes place on a plane. The characters must face their antagonists head-on because there is no escape. I love that these settings challenge me to dig deep into character and plot inventively. Exposing my characters’ darkest secrets as they face their foes becomes part of the fun. The books I chose for this list all have excellent “locked rooms” and speak to the girl in me who gobbled up Murder on the Orient Express and became instantly obsessed.
Amy's book list on young adult thrillers where escape isn't an option
Why did Amy love this book?
Anyone who knows me well or has read my first two books knows I’m a sucker for a thriller about a cult. Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett is my young adult Midsommar dream novel. The main character, Ash Larkin, goes looking for the commune her mother escaped only to find herself physically trapped there by the cornfield (and cult) from hell. As a child I used to play hide and seek in cornfields. This book brought me back to those moments spent listening for my friends, worrying that they wouldn’t find me. Kim’s writing is beautiful and lyrical. I will literally read anything she writes. Besides, she has the coolest author bio ever. She spent the eighties singing backup for rock bands.
1 author picked Blood and Salt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.
Determined to find her mother when she disappears, Ash follows her to Quivara, Kansas, the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.
Her mother is nowhere to be found, but Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town's history of unrequited love, murder, alchemy, and immortality. Charming traditions give way to a string of deaths. And Ash feels herself drawn to Dane, a mysterious, forbidden boy with secrets of his own.
As the community prepares for a ceremony…