Four Found Dead

My tentative goal for October is to read only thrillers/murder mysteries/dark romances/paranormals/etc (unless my mental health kicks up a fight about it). Here's Natalie D. Richards's "Four Found Dead."

["At the movie theater where Jo works, the last show has ended. But the nightmare is just beginning.

Tonight, Tempest Theaters is closing forever, the last remaining business in a defunct shopping mall. The moviegoers have left, and Jo and her six coworkers have the final shift, cleaning up popcorn and mopping floors for the last time.

But after an unexpected altercation puts everyone on edge, the power goes out. Their manager disappears, along with the keys to the lobby doors and the theater safe, where the crew's phones are locked each shift. Then, the crew's tension turns to terror when Jo discovers the dead body of one of her co-workers.

Now their only chance to escape the murderer in their midst is through the dark, shuttered mall. With its boarded-up exits and disabled fire alarms, the complex is filled with hiding places for both pursuer and pursued. In order to survive this night, Jo and her friends must trust one another, navigate the sprawling ruins of the mall, and outwit a killer before he kills again."]

This one was somehow both fast and slow. The first murder didn't happen until the fifth chapter. Which doesn't seem long, but it also felt like forever. After that, the plot and the suspense picked up quickly. As did the number of dead bodies (which was actually, technically--spoiler alert--more than four).

I'm not sure how I feel knowing who the killer was the entire time. It added a layer of something (like when you watch Criminal Minds and the audience knows who the killer is but the BAU doesn't?), but it also took some of that suspense away. 

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