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 Daphne, Anne, Shirley, and Mary are four little ghost girls trapped in an abandoned orphanage, passing the time by playing a game called “Bones", which will determine who will narrate that evening’s frightening tale.The four young spirits aren’t the only spooks living in the orphanage. The girls must also watch out for the evil Headmistress, who is quite ready to punish any of the girls by placing them in the horrifying “Red Room".
As the evening tale begins, 16 year-old Lindsay Morgan is on her
way to Redlands Beach with her parents for a family vacation. Unhappy
about being dragged along to the dirty beach with creepy locals instead
of helping her best friend back home prepare for a party, Lindsay was
inclined to accept the trip as a total loss, that is, until she notices
the dark-haired, blue-eyed cutie named, Mark, at the beach house next
door.
Mark appears to be the perfect boy: sweet, gorgeous, and an amazing musician. Unfortunately for Lindsay, getting close to him seems difficult at best (and, dangerous at worst), because of Mark’s two mysterious, black parka-wearing guardians, Jack and Doug, who keep the boy locked away from the rest of the world. Lindsay decides to rescue Mark from his terrible fate, but, by doing so, it means she must face a most unholy secret.
Wicked Dead: Snared was written by masters of horror Stefan Petrucha (also known for his work on the award-winning Nancy Drew Graphic Novels) and Thomas Pendleton (a pseudonym of a critically acclaimed horror author for adults). As with the rest of the Wicked Dead series, the book’s prime audience is between the ages of 12 and 15, or simply people who are young at heart and like these kinds of teenage horror stories.
Wicked Dead: Snared is one of the better installments from this adolescent horror series. The plot is easy to read, and contains enough conflicts with the various characters to maintain the reader’s interest. The setting often changes with the mood of the story to heighten the imposing threat facing the young female protagonist. And, every once in a while, the reader will get some insight into a character’s state of mind, such as when Mark claims, “…chaos and control are a fuel mix that keeps the world spinning.”
The biggest problem with Wicked Dead: Snared is that the character of Lindsay, on numerous occasions, is written as the typical privileged teenage girl. By the way she speaks, thinks, and acts, Lindsay frequently comes across as a stereotype, which, at times, creates a shallow character with little emotional or intellectual depth. Be that as it may, the story poses enough questions regarding the characters to appeal to the target audience’s imagination, and ultimately, entertain that aforementioned audience.
Final Analysis: Wicked Dead: Snared will please fans of the series, and, quite possibly, make some new ones.
This Reviewer's Rating:   3 / 5
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