Catacomb Book Review

Catacomb

Written by Madeline Roux
Number of pages: 335

Average Rating: 3.82/5 stars
My Rating: 1.5/5 stars (rounded to 2)

Published on September 1st, 2015
Read in June 2016


Summary according to Goodreads

Sometimes the past is better off buried.

Senior year is finally over. After all they've been through, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they're just not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on their way to visit Jordan's uncle in New Orleans, the three friends notice that a black muscle car appears to be following them. And Dan starts receiving phone messages from someone he didn't expect to hear from again - someone who died last Halloween. 

As the strange occurrences escalate, Dan is forced to accept that everything that has happened to him in the past year may not be a coincidence, but fate - a fate that ties Dan to a group called the Bone Artists, who has a sinister fascination with notorious killers of the past. Now, Dan's only hope is that he will make it out of his senior trip alive. 


My Thoughts

What a terrible novel and terrible conclusion. I can only hope that this is the last novel in the series because I cannot imagine what the author could come up with to drag the story out. There was not one aspect of this novel that I enjoyed or appreciated - except that we finally got some answers asked in the first novel. 

In all of the books I have read, these three characters are some of the dullest and fakest I have come across. The relationships did not seem real, they were completely reckless, and seemed to have no regard for boundaries or consequences. Somebody gets seriously injured and nobody calls the police? A hospital? Just tells an adult? Considering how these teen's parents had no issues with them driving across the United States, it doesn't surprise me too much that they didn't check in often. 

Nothing special about the setting. Nothing special about the plot. It was no longer a "horror" novel, but instead turned into a murder-mystery while trying to figure out Dan's family history. There were some ghost moments at the beginning, including text messages from a long-dead friend, but that was almost completely forgotten until the end when things were wrapping up. 

I think my biggest disappointment from this novel was the decline in the quality of pictures. In the previous two novels I could count on the photos to provide some horror, some addition to the plot, and overall enjoyment. However, in this novel the photographs were less significant, much less terrifying, and felt more like a filler between pages. 

There are few things I dislike more than writing a negative review, since I always try to find something good in every novel. I think that Madeline Roux has a strong talent for story telling, but feel that she would shine better in a more contemporary story! I have nothing against her at all, and instead believe that my expectations were very high due to how many horror movies I watch.

I was really hoping this series would end on a positive note, but instead I wish I had stopped after the first novel. Things just got dragged out more than they needed to be, and did not make the story better because of this. Overall, I would not recommend it as a good horror novel, or even to purchase. If you are interested in reading this series I would recommend checking it out from your local library to make sure it is your taste!