My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/tFWG4v3Ub0U

Enjoy!

Mackenzie plans to enjoy her time with her friends at Josh's cabin this weekend, even if Josh himself disgusts her. The group is joined by Josh's brother, Blake, who Josh has mostly lived apart from since their parents got divorced. Mackenzie is prepared for Blake to be just as awful as Josh, but she finds herself actually enjoying his company...enough to sleep with him that night, even though she never does one night stands.

The next morning, everyone wakes up with massive hangovers, only to discover that Josh and his girlfriend Courtney were stabbed to death in the kitchen sometime during the night. They were all drunk, but surely someone should have heard something?

Unfortunately, since the cabin was locked up and there were no signs of forced entry, the police immediately assume that someone in the group must have committed the murders. Mackenzie refuses to believe that one of her friends could be capable of such a thing, and she's so drawn to Blake that she doesn't believe he could have done it either. But if the killer wasn't one of them, then who was? And what if those around Mackenzie have more secrets than she realizes?

I wasn't a fan of the first book by Preston I read, The Cellar, and this one made me regret that I still have three more of Preston's books in my collection to read. This is what I get for buying multiple books by a new-to-me author. In my defense, three of them were a shrink-wrapped bargain set. But still.

Most of the characters were morons. The only halfway smart one was Blake, and that might've just been because he was constantly around Mackenzie and therefore looked smarter by comparison. Mackenzie was...frustrating. She was convinced the cops were overlooking something, but her method of "investigation" mostly involved looking around frantically, blowing up at Blake anytime he asked logical questions that took things in directions she didn't agree with, and telling herself repeatedly that the murderer couldn't possibly be any of her friends as all of them gradually told her enormous secrets that gave them all motives.

She constantly wanted to go to the police with half-baked theories and random "evidence" she found that I'm pretty sure couldn't legally be used (a random wrapper with some blood on it that she, a suspect, said she'd found in the woods?). And yet when she did have something genuinely alarming that she should have shared with the police, threatening texts from an unknown number, she kept it to herself.

The ending was a mess. It seemed like Preston was attempting a twist, but it was so sloppily done that it fell flat. It didn't help that the characters continued to be morons right up to the end. The last paragraph just about made my eyes roll out of my head.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

Un fin de semana de juerga en una cabaña remota es justamente lo que Mackenzie necesita. Quiere divertirse a tope con sus amigos, lejos de los padres y las obligaciones. Pero tras una noche loca, dos de ellos mueren... asesinados.
Sin signos de que la puerta haya sido forzada y ningún rastro de forcejeo, las sospechas recaen sobre el grupo de amigos. Entre ellos solo hay un asesino. Pero ninguno es inocente.

I read the reviews on this book before I picked it up but I shrugged them off because I've read a handful of Miss Preston's other works and enjoyed them. However, this book drove me crazy. The instalove was terrible and distracting. Rather than being concerned about finding her best friend's killer, the main character kept fantasizing about a guy she had just met the night her friend died. She kept making terrible choices and several times, I wished I could've shaken some sense into her.

Although the book was tense and the suspense kept me reading to the end, I thought the ending was disappointing. While I'll recommend any of Miss Preston's books any day of the week, I would not recommend this one unless of course you're a fan of instalove. ( )

The Cabin by Natasha Preston is an intriguing young adult mystery about a weekend trip that ends in murder.

The summer before beginning university is supposed to be nothing but fun for MacKenzie Keaton and her friends, Courtney, Courtney's boyfriend Josh, Megan, Aaron and Kyle. Their first big adventure is a weekend of drinking at Josh's cabin and the group is surprised when Josh's estranged brother Blake decides to tag along. Although no one particularly cares for Josh, everyone tries to set aside their animosity for the sake of his girlfriend, Courtney. Despite a few tense moments, the weekend is off to a pretty good start but the morning after a night of heavy drinking, Mackenzie and Blake are stunned when they discover that Courtney and Josh have been stabbed to death in the kitchen. With all of the doors and windows locked, DI Wright is convinced one of the friends is responsible for the murders, but Mackenzie finds it impossible to believe one of her friends is a murderer. With everyone under a cloud of suspicion, Blake and Mackenzie begin their own investigation but will they unmask the killer before it is too late?

Mackenzie is a little naive but she is an incredibly loyal friend. She has good reason to dislike Josh and she is not all happy her close friend Courtney is romantically involved with him. However, she is determined to have a enjoyable weekend with her friends in spite of her feelings. Mackenzie is a immediately drawn to Blake and she finds him impossible to resist once she has downed more than her fair share of drinks. Even when the weekend comes to an abrupt end, she continues to see Blake and she is the only person who believes he had nothing to do with the murders.

Quickly returning to town after discovering the bodies of their slain friends, DI Wright continues questioning everyone about what happened at the cabin. Although he uncovers some very troubling information, he does not find any evidence that links any of the friends to the crime. Despite her conviction that none of her friends could possibly be a murderer, Mackenzie finally admits if neither she nor Blake murdered Courtney and Josh, then one of them has to be the killer. Trying to view her friends objectively, she decides to gently interrogate them to see if she can figure out a motive for the murders. She discovers a few shocking secrets but would someone kill to keep them from being revealed? Surprisingly, Blake is a voice of reason who keeps Mackenzie from taking her suspicions to the police prematurely, but it soon becomes clear the killer will go to any lengths to evade detection.

The Cabin is an engaging mystery that is full of unexpected twists and turns. Although well-written, some of the storyline is just a touch unbelievable. Mackenzie is a likable character but some of the things she says and does are a little irritating. Blake is a great love interest but it is kind of odd that Mackenzie trusts him implicitly despite not knowing him very well. Natasha Preston does an excellent job obscuring the perpetrator's identity and she throws in a final plot twist is absolutely stunning. An enjoyable but sometimes frustrating young adult novel that I recommend to older teens due to content. ( )