The Summer Shack by Kelli Landon - a YA book review

Summer Shack - A Killer Vacation
Author:  Kelli Landon
Published:2011
Self-published (Indie)
Pages: 258
Genre:  Young Adult Suspense
ISBN 9781463778323
Source:  A copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

(from the back cover)  It's summer vacation and Deborah Walker invites childhood friend Kimberly Foster to stay in her parents' cottage retreat in Wisconsin.  Deb's goal is to film a documentary of the area as a pre-college project.  Shortly after arriving, they find out that a serial killer has just been arrested.  Deb's plans for her film soon change as curiosity takes over.  She wants to be the first person to film the killer's shack which is where he stashed the bodies.  They are successful in making their way into the shack on the beach, but will they make it out?

My Review:

I've read both Kelli Sue Landon's previous books, Sudden Moves and Nightmare at Camp Forrestwood, so when Kelli comes out with a new novel, I want to be among the first to know!  Kelli writes a gripping tale in Summer Shack, just as she masterfully wove the tales of her two previous young adult books.  

In Summer Shack - A Killer Vacation, high school is over and once childhood friends make plans to spend a few weeks together at a cottage in Wisconsin.  Deb, whose parents own the cottage, has an ulterior motive, though.  She needs a filmographer, and Kim is it.  Kim welcomes the opportunity for a vacation at a cottage, just the girls.  Beach, sun, no adults...sounds perfect right?  That is until curiosity and the desire to get an "edge" in her what Deb hopes to be her future profession as a journalist, drives her and ultimately Kim and two friends into the realm of nightmarish danger with a psychopath lurking in the background.  When they find out a suspected serial killer has recently been arrested, Deb and a reluctant Kim investigate.  The shack near the beach is where the bodies were found.  The shack is where they are headed to get some good footage.  The shack presents unsuspected lethal dangers to both Deb and Kim and their friends.

Kelli does a great job building the suspense in Summer Shack and casting suspicions about and though the reader suspects one, another is a great surprise!  The characters are believable and their life dramas have played out in many a high school.  Probably even yours!  Which makes it.  

One minor issue, there are a few instances where editing didn't catch small errors like a repetition of words, or a wrong word which spell check wouldn't have caught.  But these do not detract from the story.  

Each subsequent book shows the author's growth in her ability to create drama and suspense.  I've said it before but it bears repeating, with editing, the right marketing and a publishing house behind her, Kelli Sue Landon is a YA voice to be reckoned with.  She has a bestseller in the wings.  I just know it!

Rated:  4/5 adult themes