Book Review: The Cabin by Natasha Preston

The Cabin

By Natasha Preston

Genres: Thriller, Mystery,  Suspense, Young Adult

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To paraphrase a summary on Goodreads, only one person is guilty of murder, but none of them are innocent.

The Cabin is about five teenagers who get together for a weekend trip sometime following the death of two of the group’s closest friends in an automobile accident of which they were all in. Thanks to the synopsis on the back of the book, it’s no secret that the meat of this story starts when two of the five at the cabin turn up dead. The police believe one of them is the killer and lets the group know from the start that it’s only a matter of which one.

Unable to believe the killer can possibly be anyone she knows and desperate to clear their names, the plot unfolds in first person point of view as Makenzie tries to figure out who killed her friends. Along the way, she learns that she did not know her friends as well as she thought she did. Every one of them, including herself, has secrets that could very well have been a motive for murder. She eventually has to accept that one of them is indeed a murderer. It is a book that keeps you guessing until the end.

My Rating: 

In general, The Cabin reads as more of a mystery than as a suspense or thriller story. The strong point of the book is that as the story progresses, it is revealed that each person at the cabin had a motive to kill Courtney or Josh. However, there is not a lot of action involved that would provide more suspense along with the mystery. Instead, there is a detective on the case who seems more concerned with playing cat and mouse with the suspects while revealing as little information as possible about his findings. As a result, Makenzie decides to enlist the help of Blake to do her own investigation. She learns various secrets from each of her friends, but still, there is little action because, thinking she is being a good friend, Makenzie is reluctant to share the potentially incriminating information with the detective about her friends.

There is also an insta-romance between Makenzie and Blake that is a distraction from the main focus of the book. Blake is the brother of Josh, who is a person no one but Courtney liked. In addition, Blake is not a part of the circle of friends who went to the cabin. He was a last minute addition, claiming he decided to come along to spend more time with his brother. At first, it seems most likely that Blake is the murderer, given that he is an outsider and the rest of the group grew up knowing one another fairly well. The romance between Makenzie and Blake reveals early on that he too has a possible motive to want his brother dead, but other than that, it does not do a lot to move the mystery forward. In fact, it somewhat weakens the plot, thanks to the distraction from the action it provides.

In the end, the detective was of no use and neither was Makenzie’s investigation. There’s a bit of a plot twist just before a major plot twist at the conclusion. That is where most of the action occurs. It’s a shame since there was ample opportunity to insert more action or more suspense in the main part of the story. Even the plot twist was not as much of a surprise as it could have been. As far as murder mysteries go, it’s a little cliche, but not enough that it is abundantly obvious who the killer is all along.

Though it is not the best book I have ever read and I would not say that I love it, I would recommend the book for anyone looking for a decent book to relax with. It is geared toward young adults, however, and I do feel that they would be more likely to be engrossed in the plotline as it is, distraction and all.

One last word of advice: if you do not like cliffhanger endings, do not read this book.

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55 Questions for Readers

This particular questionnaire came from The Literary Lollipop website. Readers are invited to post the answers to the questions on their own blogs. As far as the very first post goes, I thought it sounded like fun to share a little about who I am as a reader.



1. Favorite childhood book: I read several books from The Boxcar Children series. I also remember reading classics like Little Women and The Black Stallion. As a young teen, I was into reading thrillers like Fear Street by R.L. Stine and books by Christopher Pike. Then my interest turned to books my grandma would read and pass on to me. Most of them by an author named Gilbert Morris. He had a series that followed the family tree of the Winslow family line from Europe before the establishment of the United States through World War !!.

2. What are you reading right now? I am not reading anything at the moment. I just finished reading The Cabin and am about to write a book review on it. I haven’t decided what my next book will be yet, but one will soon follow. I’ve got plenty of on-hand reading material to choose from.

3. What books do you have on request at the library? I have no books on request at the library because I am actually unable to check out any books from my local library right now. I moved and have yet to update my address on my ID card. Until I do that I cannot check out any books or have a library membership. The local library is ridiculously strict. A temporary card won’t even allow me to do much other than use the computers.

4. Bad book habit: I take my books places most people won’t, like the bathtub. I used to fold the cover backward when I read paperback books so that I could easily hold the book with one hand when I was a teen, until I decided I didn’t want to break the spine doing that anymore

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? No books checked out due to the same reason I can’t put any on special request. Hopefully soon.

6. Do you have an e-reader? I resisted for years on end, but then one day I bought a phone with the Kindle app on it. I now use it frequently, though I still prefer a traditional book in hand.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? I’ve been known to read more than one at a time, but I don’t prefer it that way.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? No. My reading habits vary, anyway. Though this is my first post of this particular blog, I do have another one that has never stopped me from reading when I want to.

9. Least favorite book you read this year: Well, seeing how this is January and I’ve only read two books thus far this year, my least favorite is a book called Delivered By Christmas containing three shorter stories. It’s not bad, but I didn’t care for one of the stories for some reason. (Yes, I know, I’m still reading Christmas books well past the season. Don’t be surprised if I do a review of one mid-summer.)

10. Favorite book I’ve read this year: The only other book I’ve read this year is The Cabin and although it is not my favorite thriller, it did keep me guessing.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? I’m not sure I have a comfort zone when it comes to reading. I don’t particularly care for heated political articles, but I read them on occasion. I don’t like reading highly technical books, and I do that infrequently.

12. What is your reading comfort zone? Again, not sure that I have a particular comfort zone. If by comfort zone you mean favorite genre, then I enjoy reading Christian fiction novels, some romance novels (nothing heavily erotic, historical fiction, thrillers, and mysteries. There are probably genres that I left out. My reading tastes are all over the map.

13. Can you read on the bus? Sometimes. Other times I cannot read in a moving vehicle without becoming nauseated.

14. Favorite place to read: I love to read in bed. Also while taking a hot bubble bath. It’s so relaxing!

15. What’s your policy on book lending? I don’t usually lend my books. If I let others read something, it’s usually because I just passed the book on as a gift.

16. Do you dog-ear your books? Never. I only did that with college textbooks.

17. Do you write notes in the margins of your books? I’ve done that in my Bible and in textbooks, but never in a regular book.

18. Do you break/crack the spine of your books? Not intentionally. I try to be careful with them.

19. What is your favorite language to read? English. I don’t speak any other language fluently enough. I can, however, read some Spanish.

20. What makes you love a book? Oh, gosh. That’s hard to say. I love a book that makes me feel something as I read it. If I can connect to the characters on such a personal level that I feel what they are feeling I know that I am reading some excellent writing. Of course, I can do that to various degrees, and some books that cause me to feel are not books I necessarily love. But that is a huge criteria for me. Another reason I may love a book is if it inspires me to think more deeply about what it is that I am reading or about the themes contained within the pages.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book? If I love a book, I’ll definitely recommend it to others. Sometimes I recommend a book to specific people because I feel those people will like that particular book.

22. Favorite genre: I touched on that when I described my comfort zone, but probably historical fiction is my favorite.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did): I am starting to read more thrillers than I have since I was a teenager. I guess you could say I am trying to make that wish come true. I think I”d also like to read more biographies. Talk about a rare genre for me. That’s it.

24. Favorite Biography: Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I read a biography. But one of the most powerful biographies I have ever read is Convicted in the Womb by Carl Upchurch.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book? (And, was it actually helpful?) I read self-help books on occasion. Whether or not they are actually helpful depends on how well I relate to particular advise offered or to the reason for the advise.

26. Favorite Cookbook: Wow. Let me put it this way: I love to collect recipes, but I don’t cook as often as I wish I did and I don’t usually use recipes when I do cook. So when it comes to cookbooks, I haven’t used one in years. I usually look up a new recipe online if I need one. Even when I need one, I usually end up altering it some way or another.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction): I really should have answered these particular questions in December! I’ve yet to read an inspirational book this year.

28. Favorite reading snack: I don’t usually eat when I’m reading. I don’t like food to get on my books.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience: I can’t think of one. I try to read a book before watching its film adaptation, if it has one, but sometimes movie hype can spoil a book. Seeing a movie before reading the book most definitely can ruin the reading experience, depending on the genre. Suspense, for instance. There isn’t much suspense if you know what comes next. I can’t think of any particular instance right off hand, though, where that has been the case for me. I usually avoid reading book reviews if there is hype about a book because I don’t want to risk reading any spoilers.

30. How often do you agree with the critics about about a book? Oh, I don’t know. I rarely give the critics much thought before reading a book.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? When I do a review, even short ones for sites like Amazon, I give an honest review. I feel like that should be considered a common courtesy. There’s no need to be snarky or nasty about it, just honest.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose? Spanish. I can read some Spanish, but I’d love to be able to both speak and read Spanish as fluently as a native speaker.

33. Most intimidating book I’ve read: Hmmmm…..Maybe Sula by Toni Morrison. Probably because I was in high school when I had to read it for an advanced reading class assignment. I remember it as gritty and extremely graphic. In fact, my parents had to sign a permission slip for me to be allowed to read it due to the content.

34. Most intimidating book I’m too nervous to begin: I don’t have one like that.

35. Favorite Poet: Maya Angelou.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out from the library at any given time? When I’m allowed to check out books from my local library, I usually check out as many books as they allow at one time.

37. How often do you return books to the library unread? Not often. If I haven’t had the chance to read something I will renew it.

38. Favorite fictional character: I never like this question because I don’t have a set answer. In fact, I’m drawing a complete blank right now. I really like so many of them, but there isn’t one that jumps straight out at me.

39. Favorite fictional villain: I don’t know. My answer of the moment is Maleficent from the Disney movie of the same name because she is a villain that can be empathized with. That doesn’t happen often.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation: Whatever I happen to be reading at the time or that I want to read.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading: Unfortunately, I can say that the answer to that question is probably a couple years. I don’t make a habit out of lapses that long, though.

42. Name a book you could/would not finish: I can’t think of one that I haven’t finished on purpose.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading? Not much if I’m truly intent on what I’m reading. However, my kids have a way of being a major distraction to just about any activity.

44. A favorite film adaptation of a novel: There are several that I have not seen yet but want to. Of the ones that I have seen, I think Gone with the Wind is near the top my list for favorite film adaptations.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation: I’m not sure. One of the most recent disappointments is the 2013 version of Great Gatsby. I also wasn’t thrilled with the film adaptation of Left Behind.

46. Most money I’ve ever spent in a bookstore at one time: I have no idea. . .

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it? Not very often. I usually read the synopsis and then dive right in. If I skim, it’s just to see how many chapters there are.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through? Pure boredom. Complete and total lack of interest of the storyline. The last book I stopped reading pretty early on was filled with typos.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized? I used to keep them organized by author and number in a series. Now they’re all just on my shelf in no particular order. That may change if I ever get more room to store them.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once they’ve been read? I tend to keep them, but I do give them away if I know for sure someone else will enjoy them. If it’s a personal favorite, I buy a new one to give away.

51. Are there any books that you’ve been avoiding? None in particular. To avoid a book, I’d have to have a reason to need to read it in the first place. Otherwise, if it’s something I don’t want to read, I just don’t.

52. Name a book that made you angry: Last year I made the mistake of reading Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter. The book itself was a real page turner and I enjoyed it immensely - right up until the end. Then I got hit over the head by a surprise ending that did not sit well with me. I immediately went looking for answers online as to why the author would do that. As it turns out, that book is the sixth in a series. It read just fine as a stand-alone, though, and I don’t think reading the others first would have made a lick of difference in how much I resented the ending. Supposedly, the ending set the author up for a spinoff series, though. She said she considered whether or not to drop that bomb on readers for quite a long time before deciding it was necessary. I haven’t read them yet.

53. A book I didn’t expect to like but did: Growing up, I most often heard people talk about how boring The Great Gatsby is and I assumed that I would not like it either. Much to my surprise, when it became an assignment for a high school reading class I did enjoy it.

54. A book I expected to like but didn’t: I can’t think of one . .Doesn’t happen often.

55. Favorite guilt-free guilty pleasure reading: Why feel guilty for reading what I like? Therefore, I don’t have any guilt-free guilty pleasure reading material.