THAT NIGHT IN THE LIBRARY

Hannah Cabell's narration keeps this audiobook from being just another teen-slasher movie treatment. One night before college graduation, library assistant Davey invites six acquaintances to lock themselves in the library's rare book room overnight to perform an ancient ritual that is meant to rid them of their fear of death. And there will be drugs. LSD, specifically. Faye announces that she won't do drugs just as the door locks and the lights go out. One by one, they begin to die. Cabell does her best to create believable characters, but the students are merely stereotypes. However, she turns melodrama into real emotion and ridiculous situations into the remotely possible. Cabell is fine, but Jurczyk's locked-room mystery lacks the spark needed to keep it sizzling. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2024]