I really enjoyed this book! It was creepy, gross, and disturbing. I've worked in malls so I understand how they can feel "off" after hours or in the service corridors. The way the characters developed and grew was realistic. I kinda want to go to the mall now. ( )

It was supposed to be a quick trip to the mall, make the deal, score a hit and get back before anyone noticed that she, and the kid she was looking after, were missing. But after returning from her dealer to Only Book, the store she left the kid waiting in while she made her transaction, she discovered the kid had disappeared.

A run in with mall security should have been just what she needed, they would find the kid and she could leave, however they are not as helpful as she hoped. Worse still they are threatening to call the cops and with the stash in her pocket there is no way she is going to risk getting taken in. To find the kid she is going to have to take matters into her own hands.

When he left for work that morning he never imagined his day would end being held at knife point by a drugged up girl, forced to search behind the scenes at the mall for a kid that has probably already been found is long home by now. But as the detour through the mall becomes more and more dangerous and surreal, he realises he has more important things to worry about.

The mall became a labyrinth, it shouldn't have been possible, he knew the mall and none of these turns and corridors existed. But here they were being chased by monsters in the dark, stumbling over dismembered mannequins and being confronted by a distorted version of reality. Suddenly getting out is not a question of how by why.

The Mall is a gritty, raw and provocative story that turns society inside out and strips it down to expose its discarded, scared and rotting core. Through drugs, violence, consumerism and days spent in a nightmare world on the run for their lives, Rhoda and Dan discover that the life they once had is no longer the life they wish to lead. A thought provoking and chilling read. ( )

wish i'd known this was the first of a series before reading this. on its own it's just absurd and pointless. ( )

At first, I thought this would be another yawn-fest. Kid gets lost, unlikable babysitter needs to find kid, unlikable loser can't remember kid being in the store... blah, blah, blah... You know, the type of books that really shouldn't be categorised under horror/thriller? Well I was wrong. It took me a while to get into the book, but when I was past the first couple of chapters things quickly changed and I was drawn into The Mall's bizarre twists and turns. The spooky atmosphere jumps off of the pages, envelops the reader in its shroud of mystery, and then screws with the reader's mind just for the hell of it. It's bloody brilliant!

Like I said, it takes a while to get into the book, but by golly, once you pushed through the introductory chapters, you're going to be in for a ride of your life, coming straight from a seemingly unknown mall situated in Johannesburg. Not to mention, the mannequins (Doctor Who fans will remember how creepy mannequins can be), freaked me out! I'll never look at a mannequin the same way again.

Okay, but The Mall isn't just about a weird horror story with creepy characters. S.L. Grey (a collaboration between Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg) actually has more to say than what meets the eye. With consumerism, drugs, violence, and negligence present between the lines, it's obvious that this book is much more intelligently written than similar horror novels. Granted, you don't have to dissect the book to enjoy it though...
So, what did I think? Well, my suggestion is that you push through. It starts off a bit lame (the writing is excellent, the plot just kind of drags on for a while), but when you finish the book you're going to sit there and swear off mall's for quite some time. In other words, horror junkies, this is a definite must-read.

(review originally posted on www.tentaclebooks.com) ( )

Please read my full review here: http://realbooks4ever.tumblr.com/post/117489507014. ( )