Horror Book Review: The Girls In The Cabin by Caleb Stephens
This week’s Horror Book Pick has been described as unputdownable and packed with heart-stopping twists.
THE GIRLS IN THE CABIN, written by Caleb Stephens was published in May 2023 and is an award-winning thriller.
The novel has received rave reviews for its premise and writing style while also being lauded for its twisted ending. The only critique seems to be that it gets a little gory and disturbing in parts.
The Girls in the Cabin is about Chris, a father who is desperate to keep the family together after his wife passes away. Before she did, she had longed to go on a camping trip that never materialised. And so, Chris takes it upon himself to fulfil her last wish and take his sixteen-year-old daughter Kayla and nine-year-old Emma on a camping trip. But of course, things don’t go as planned.
At the beginning of the book, we meet Clara. The year is 1984, and she is nine years old. Unfortunately, Clara doesn’t have a normal childhood. It is heavily implied that she is being repeatedly abused by her father and that showing any form of resistance leads to being punished and left alone in what she calls the Black Place.
Eventually, as the years pass, Clara manages to make a friend called Sydney, to whom she confides her problems. Sydney is protective of Clara and promises to never leave her side.
In the present, Kayla is grieving the loss of her mother when Chris finds her with his phone, looking at photos. He is making an effort to connect with her but is also frustrated by Kayla’s mood swings as a teenager.
When they both return to where they left Emma, they find her gone. Emma had been chasing a bunny when she fell off a hill and had a boulder land on her leg.
Chris and Kayla come to her rescue but soon realize that they are in desperate need of help as it begins to rain.
The book goes back and forth between the family and Clara’s plight in the 1980s. Each chapter focuses on the POV of one character, and it is interesting to read about their thought process and how they gauge the situation they are in.
The writing flows well, and the story delicately deals with topics of abuse and grief.
To Read or Not to Read?
Caleb Stephens is a talented author who has managed to write a gripping tale where the focus is trauma. Whether the trauma comes from years of being abused and then being abandoned, or having a loved one die, or simply being trapped, it is there, and it is palpable throughout.
Every character has a trauma they must deal with and overcome, and writing about children going through it can’t be that easy.
The characters are fleshed out well,l and it is evident in the initial chapters of their introduction. With so much going on in the first few chapters, no doubt the rest of the novel will keep this pace steady until the very end.
The family is given shelter from the storm by a very kind woman. Based on what I have read so far, chances are that Clara could be this woman, which is when the plot will take a turn.
Also, it’s no coincidence that Emma is nine years old, the same age Clara was when the book begins.
The book has already gotten me excited and speculating as to where the story will lead. I would definitely want to continue reading this book.
So should you.
You can find this book on Amazon
Comments
Post a Comment