REVIEW: Come Quietly – Hermione Lee

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The house will only free one of them when another dies….

When Irina Vance and her sister Mallory are walking home one night, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to a dark, eerie manor in the forest. They enter the house and are locked in by a mysterious force. Fourteen other people are trapped with them. When a brawl breaks out and someone is killed, they realize the door will only open for one of them when another dies. Irina has her heart set on freeing everyone and is adamant about finding an escape route, but the others, driven mad by frustration, are intent on eliminating each other. A few deadly games are played, and as blood is shed, the survivors leave the house. Irina witnesses the depth and darkness of humanity as danger ebbs and flows around her. She does not know whether she will live to see the outside world again, but she knows she will cling to the last shred of hope and brave through the unknown to save herself and her sister.

On Halloween night Irina Vance and her sixteen-year-old sister Mallory went shopping for their mother who was going to make a special Halloween dinner. When they are ready to follow the path through the forest to home a sudden fog appears and they find themselves lost. Their phones are dead meaning the flashlight is also dead.

It is pitch black until they see lights coming from a huge manor and they find themselves unable to resist entering. They find fourteen other teens in the house, all belligerent and blaming Irina and Mallory for the house being locked. When Irina tries to open the door to get out it is indeed locked.

Kyle takes control and protects Irina and Mallory from the others. The search of the house shows no sign of escape no matter how much they try. Windows and curtains cannot be moved, walls repair themselves when an attempt is made to break through. There is food, a bathroom with running water and with the groceries the girls bought they have ten days’ worth of food before they starve to death.

Kyle, Irina and Mallory stick together but the others are becoming more and more unglued and violent. The violence escalates into one of them dying and then the door opens. Only one person can leave revealing to everyone that the only way to get out is to kill someone.

Irina is totally against killing and is hopeful that they will find a way out but little by little her hope fades.

She tries to figure out the best way to choose who will die next rather than having it become a free for all. With Kyle and Mallory on her side she does her best to prevent more deaths but even she realizes that it is something that will have to happen if there is any hope for some of them to get free.

With death looking them in the face Irina is determined to save Kyle and Mallory. With each death the ones remaining become more hostile and keeping control becomes an uphill battle.

This was a scary book in addition to being sad. Sixteen kids, eight will die and eight will live and it is a fight for survival. The story behind the manor is revealed and it only reinforces the reality that there is no way out but death.