Darby Throne is a sophomore college student in Colorado who was planning to spend Christmas alone in her dorm room, away from her estranged mother. However, after learning from her sister that her mother is dying of cancer, Darby drops everything and heads to her hometown in Utah.
But the weather conditions are not favorable and she finds herself in a severe snowstorm. In the early evening, she finds a rest stop to wait for the weather conditions to improve. There, the girl meets 3 other people: Ashley (a guy), a talkative accountant, and Ed and Sandi, two cousins on their way to visit family. They are soon joined by Lars, a quiet guy who doesn't say much about himself. There is zero cell reception there, so they have to entertain themselves talking to each other and playing games.
Eventually Darby goes to the parking lot and spots a small hand in the back of a van. At first she thought she was dreaming, but she looks again and sees a little girl inside of a dog cage with duct tape over her mouth. This is where the story really begins: Who is the owner of the van? Do these people know each other? Is there anyone Darby can trust? What I can say here is that Darby is not just going to ignore what she saw. She is going to react.
This book is really intense! I found it so addictive, I read it in less than a day. I do not agree with all of Darby's decisions but I can understand where she was coming from. It all made sense considering what she reveals about her past and what she has become.
The story is not told in the first person, so the narrator is not an unreliable one, as sometimes happens in this kind of stories. But it stays on Darby's side, portraying her like a hero and the others as villains in a very comical way (e.g nicknaming and mocking them) and, at the same time, scary and absolutely convincing.
I absolutely recommend this book if you love thrillers full of action, unpredictable twists and well developed characters. Reading this was a very cinematic experience, it would work perfectly in a movie or a miniseries!
Rate:5/5
