FRIGHTMARES

A summer job turns deadly.

Recent high school graduate Dave is resigned to spending the summer working at the Frightmare House of Horrors in Orlando. He’s looking forward to entering college on a swimming scholarship, but in the meantime, he is stuck acting out over-the-top scenarios with other demoralized staff. The haunted house has been on its last legs for some time, making do with shoddy prop work and improvisation. After one spectacularly awful day, many of his co-workers quit, forcing Dave to step into an unfamiliar role—but when the body of a dead girl is substituted for a mannequin, the job becomes far from boring. Dave returns with help only to discover the body has disappeared. The killer covered their tracks, but Dave suspects they may come back to tie up loose ends, and he could be one of them. This propulsive thriller does its best to keep the momentum up and the shocks coming at a regular pace. Unfortunately, poor staging leads to clumsy moments that fall flat instead of tingling the spine. Readers looking for something to scratch the terror itch will be disappointed, and there’s little else to draw in those averse to the genre. Dave is presumed White; there is some racial diversity in the supporting cast.

A plot-driven story offering only mild thrills and chills.