Book Review: Kill River

KILL RIVER | Cameron Roubique
(Kill River #1)
08.01.2015 | Independently Published
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

In the summer of 1983, thirteen-year-old Cyndi and her three new-found friends Stacy, Zack, and Brad decide to sneak away from their summer camp in the middle of the night by rafting down the nearby rivers. After spending a tense night lost in the woods, the four teenagers stumble into a mysterious water park that appears to be completely empty. At first, they are thrilled to have the rides all to themselves, at least until one of them disappears. Soon they discover that they are trapped in the park, and a dark figure is stalking them from the shadows, picking them off one by one. Once night falls, Cyndi will have to fight to escape the park, a masked maniac, and a living nightmare.

If you’ve followed my reviews at all over the last few years, you’ll know I love a slasher book set in the 80’s or 90’s, so of course I needed to check out KILL RIVER! I actually bought this book a few years ago and promptly left it in my book cart until a buddy read possibility reminded me it was about time to pick this one up.

KILL RIVER is a perfect summer horror read with a fun setting in a mysterious water park. I loved this setting so much and Roubique gave a ton of detail that brought the park to life for me while reading. The main characters are fun to tag along with and watch them interact. They’re your typical angsty teens making bad decisions that we all love to see in horror books and movies. Cyndi easily steals the show as our main character and you’re cheering for her to survive through all of the chilling situations she finds herself in. This book took a bit longer than I wanted to get into the gory and slashery action, but with the setting and characters, I was satisfied enough to push through. I’m excited that this is the start in a series and I’m very intrigued to see where book two will take me!