The Killing Room by John Manning

Genre: Murder Mystery/Drama

Date of Publication: May 1, 2010

Memorable Quotation: “Mr. Young,” she said, “Where is the secret?” “Here,” he said plainly. “I don’t understand.” “You will.” They stood in silence a moment. And then she saw it. The words on the wall. They were not there when they first came in. She knew that much. The words on the wall had just suddenly appeared. ABANDON HOPE. And no matter how dim the light, Carolyn could see they were written in blood. It was still wet and dripping down the wall.” (pgs. 34-35)

Lasting Impression: I read this book in one day! I just couldn't put it down!

Storyline: A+

Pace of Story: A+

Characters: A+

Ending: A+

Overall Grade: A+

Before I go into how remarkable this story was, I have to say that the description on the back of the book is honestly The Killing Room’s worst, and only, downfall. The summary on the back is very dramatic, a little too much so, reminding me of those old movies with the dramatic taglines that were supposed to draw their audiences in. Some of these phrases included, “Old houses have their secrets…but the secrets here are different. They can kill…” and “One by one, members of the Young family are chosen to die…old and young, weak and strong, no one is safe…”

Here is a better summary of The Killing Room: the Young family curse has haunted the family for 80 years.  At the beginning of each new decade, the family must congregate at the Young Mansion in Maine to partake in a ‘lottery’ in which the oldest member of the family, Howard Young, hosts to see who will be the unfortunate chosen one to go into the basement and never return.  Even though Howard hires private investigator Carolyn Cartwright to help find the cause and solution to the curse, one of the Young family members already knows how to stop it but both their pride and shame holds them back from exposing the secret, jeopardizing everyone’s lives as a result.

One of my best friends recommended The Killing Room to me, saying it was amazing and that I would love it.  Let me just say that she was absolutely right because I could not put this book down! (The only reason why I didn’t finish it in one day was because I had to sleep.) The pace is incredible, not letting up for a moment, the characters and their relationships are so personable, and the ending is well-thought out (even if a bit gruesome), closing the story and the mystery of the ‘killing room’ nicely.

The initial feel of the book reminds me of Stephen King’s The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red and 1408 because of the haunted nature of the house and the room caused by spirits.  The Killing Room is more than a haunted room, though; it is about a past that has not been reconciled. It is about the battle between the value of money vs. love. Above all, and most importantly, it is about a family that the reader sees, hears, and feels the pain of as they continue to fall apart after each death, yet somehow, under the direst of circumstances, even the most conflicting of personalities come together for a greater cause. 

~Shelly-Beans