Book Review: Endurance by Jack Kilborn

WELCOME TO THE RUSHMORE INN

The bed and breakfast was hidden in the hills of West Virginia. Wary guests wondered how it could stay in business at such a creepy, remote location. Especially with its bizarre, presidential decor and eccentric proprietor.

ONCE YOU CHECK IN...

When the event hotel for the national Iron Woman triathlon accidentally overbooked, competitor Maria was forced to stay at the Rushmore. But after checking into her room, she quickly realized she wasn't alone. First her suitcase wasn't where she put it. Then her cell phone was moved. Finally, she heard an odd creaking under the bed. Confusion quickly turned to fear, and fear to hysteria when she discovered the front door was barred and the windows were bricked over. There was no way out.

...YOU'LL BE DYING TO LEAVE

One year later, four new female athletes have become guests of the Inn. Will they escape the horrors within its walls? Or will they join the many others who have died there, in ways too terrible to imagine?

ENDURANCE by Jack Kilborn
Are you brave enough to finish?

My Review:

Maria is taking part in an Iron Woman race but has been told by her creepy receptionist that her room is no longer available and she is rebooked into a hotel in the middle of nowhere. When Maria arrives, her things are being moved around and freaking her out but the reality of her fate will be worse than she could ever have imagined.

A year later, it is Iron Woman time again and more women are being sent to the creepy hotel. Kelly, mother Letti, grandmother Florence and dog JD are on their way there when they have a bizarre and scary encounter with a weird man during a rest stop. Deb has overcome a terrible accident and is taking part to prove herself, accepting a ride to the hotel with Mal, the journalist sent to interview her. They come under fire near the hotel and it damages their tyres, leaving them with no option but to stay at the hotel until it gets fixed. Felix, Maria's fiance, has been searching for her since she went missing but when he starts asking too many questions about the hotel, he encounters lots of trouble.

This is another very twisted Jack Kilborn tale and every bit as good as the others that I have read. Women are being sent to this hotel where they are imprisoned, tortured, bled and raped by the twisted family who run it. There is no escape for those like Maria until it is time to die and with members of this family all through the community, nobody tries to help the unfortunate victims. The people who enter the hotel are very much on their own and have to rely on themselves and each other to have any chance to survive. I liked the way the hotel was set up with secret hatches and passages and you can't go wrong with the plot of an evil psycho family torturing and killing people. I'm not sure what it says about me that I enjoy these books so much!

I liked the characters among our potential victims. Deb lost her leg in an accident and her miracle survival is why Mal wants to interview her. Now she finds herself once again in the area of the accident and battling for survival. Mal is a nice guy rather than the nasty tabloid reporter looking to trample someone to get a big break. He is tough and smart, and makes a good team with Deb. I liked the three generations of tough women as well, with different personalities. Florence in particular was smart and switched on enough to be constantly on the lookout for the danger that she senses on the trip. And to finish things off there is the wonderful dog JD who of course is the smart canine determined to protect everyone. I worried for his safety more than any of the humans to be honest! There are also a few living prisoners inside the house that we meet during the plot, which adds to the interest, especially finding out what happened to Maria.

The plot gets started straight away with Maria's story then a year later we are straight into the other women travelling to and checking in to the horror hotel. We get enough detail to be able to imagine what is happening without being swamped in detail and the story never really slows down. There are new and unexpected horrors as the book moves alone and I was never quite sure what was coming next. I like that in my horror books along with a nice serving of torture and gore!

The book does have the women being tortured and killed so it isn't for those with a nervous disposition! It is a standalone book but surving characters from the author's books appear in Haunted House so I'll be interested to see who is in that when I get to it.

Read August 2018.
5 stars.