Book Review of The Tegan Cave by Inge-Lise Goss

Synopsis:

After running from her boyfriend’s powerful organized crime family, Sara Jones starts a new life in a new town. But when people around her start dying from poisonous spider bites after she receives a mysterious package with a spider concealed inside, she worries that the family has found her. Life takes an even more bizarre turn when she seems to be not only immune to the spider venom, but also surrounded by a sinister group of people she suspects is a spider cult. Even her new boyfriend starts acting suspiciously. Just who can she trust?

Review:


The Tegen Cave by Inge-Lise Goss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A friend recommended this book, so I thought I would give it a try.

Sara Jones is a wonderful character, who is on the run from her boyfriend's family. I really liked her attitude, but wanted to shake some sense into her too, as she made a few questionable decisions. However, it's her immunity to a venomous spider that has me intrigued.

This is an unusual horror/suspense that kept me hooked from the first page! The story is told from Sara's point of view and is a roller coaster ride of suspense and mystery. There is also a bit of horror in the form of spiders. Luckily, I am not squeamish about spiders. In fact, I rather admire them; they perform an important role in the food chain. If there were no spiders, we would be totally overrun by insects!
The author of this book has used arachnids to great effect. The suspense and mystery surrounding these deadly foes was masterfully written. There are several twists and turns in the story, which kept me guessing, and a fair few surprises too. However, there are a few issues I have with the storyline. The paranormal aspect was intriguing, but I was a bit disappointed with the lack of detail of the transformation process, and what it actually means to be a Tegen for Sara personally. I was also a bit confused with Sara's actions - running from her boyfriend, but then going back with him, even though the rest of his family didn't like her - and also having a new boyfriend at the same time. Another issue I had was the revenge/vigilante aspect. I am not a fan of this type of action whether you are a real person, or a character in a book. However, since the people involved were scumbags of the first order, I suppose I can see why though! The ending was satisfying and left me happy.

Inge-Lise Goss has written an intriguing horror full of mystery and suspense. I am curious to see what this author comes up with in the future.

I do not recommend this book to younger readers due to some violence and scenes of a sensual nature that, although are not explicit, are rather hot, and to readers who have arachnophobia or of a nervous disposition. However, I recommend this book if you love horror/suspense genres. - Lynn Worton

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