REPRIEVE

Serious themes can be found in this thriller, which revolves around the Quigley House, a full-contact horror-adventure site. Narrator JD Jackson gives characters from diverse backgrounds unique and appropriate personalities. The characters comprise a team that is trying to win a prize by successfully making it through the house. The author lays the groundwork for their backstories, which involve racism, assimilation, misogyny, and loneliness. Jackson gives a young man from Thailand a hesitant tone, which is appropriate since English is his second language. The home's owner and a wannabe worker who meet often have drastically different voices. A teen's boyfriend becomes wonderfully animated when he talks about the horror genre. Jackson clearly imprints memorable identities on the multitude of characters. M.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2022]