"It’s OK to be hurt. OK to be broken. It’s normal. Anyone who says different is peddling a lie."

Trap Door
by Dreda Say Mitchell

Review to follow when I'm not so tired.

I did not like this book all that much.

Yet I read it in one sitting.

Has anyone ever had a book that started so good? Even great? And you are so hyped up, feeling so good, getting into it..and then the plot just..collapses?

Or stops making sense?

This is what happened to me with Trap Door.

Rachel is in debt. Badly. To alleviate that debt, she takes a job as a management consultant, working for Michael. Michael's a quality businessman and a man with a plan. He wants to hire Rachel even though she has no experience because he likes that she worked as a bartender. She will be cool under pressure..he thinks.

Rachel is an anxious person and close to being homeless. She comes from money but will not ask for help. Even though her dad has millions, dearly loves her and they are really close.

That is the first thing that did not make sense.

The building Rachel is to work in has an ominous past. Once, a long time ago. there was a fire in a basement sweatshop and many of the workers were killed. The basement is in this office..where Rachel is to start working.

You know what? I am giving up on the plot description. There is so much to this book. To much in my humble opinion .

TRIGGERS..Animal abuse, sexual assault, being trapped in a basement.

Here is what I liked about the book:

It is CREEPY. Rachel is flying high on the job until she finds out her office has been inexplicably moved..downstairs to that creepy basement.

The hackers work down there. Nobody speaks to each other. Nobody will acknowledge her existence. The hackers are all men and they do naughty things down there in that basement like watch snuff videos and porn when they should be working. There is not even a ladies room.

Terror is invading Rachel's psyche.

What a powerful beginning! I was hooked and I mean REALLY hooked.

The it all fell apart.

Nothing the characters did made sense. That is a major quibble. Certain things literally did not make sense.

One example:

A character (no spoilers) says they could not ever kill anyone but a few sentences later says they want to murder someone and kill themselves with them. And they mean it. Does that make sense? I was really confused.

SPOILERS;

No way did I buy the dad as the bad guy. Loved his daughter to much. Moved heaven and earth for her and I really did not believe the personality turn around. No way.

Also..how did the attempted murders not get arrested? Once the whole scheme is revealed..Rachel even becomes sorta friends with them. They operated a fake business, emotionally tortured someone, I mean..how do they all get away with it?

How did Phillip get to the house after being so badly burned and being close to death at the hospital? And poor Phillip. He dies THREE times in this book!

Keats gets hit by a car and Rachel does..nothing? Just hopes she is at the hospital?

There was twist after twist after twist in this book. I like me a twist or two but not practically on every page. The story was not at all believable. I lost interest.

I still gave it a three. Why? Because I like the writing. I'd still read other works from this author. What a CREEPY atmosphere she creates! That BASEMENT! And I loved Keats..one of my favorite characters this year.

But I cannot get higher than a three because the first half was so utterly good and then it just got to silly. Also I automatically take a point off for animal abuse. I mean..I even do that with my favorite books.

DOG DOES NOT DIE.

But he does get kicked. I knew it was gonna happen too. It always does in books when random adorable animals are thrown in . You kind of sit in dread because you KNOW.

At least this one survived. But the book was a let down. ( )