A claustrophobic horror-tinged puzzle mystery for fans of Uketsu: a group of trapped hikers have 7 days to escape an underground bunker--or drown. "The perfect mix of locked-room tension and survival-thriller chaos." --Service95One week to escape High in the mountains, a sudden rockslide traps 10 hikers in an abandoned bunker. Nicknamed "The Ark", the cavern is 3 floors deep and filled with bizarre, horrifying clues as to its previous purpose. The group initially reasons they have several weeks of food to keep them alive, but when they discover "The Ark" is flooding, they realize they have only one week before water will have filled the whole bunker. One person will be sacrificed There is only one chance of survival: in order for the rest of them to escape, someone must be left behind. If they use a winch to shift the huge boulder blocking the emergency exit, the boulder will roll back and trap the operator for good. Whoever gets that job will be trapped in a tiny dark room, alone, waiting for rescue that may never come. Which of the group would ever accept such a task? But one of them has other plans As they struggle to decide who to abandon, the group is torn apart by a brutal murder. And it won't be the last. Can they unmask the murderer and reach safety before the water rises over their heads? Or will The Ark become their tomb?
Not only do you get the claustrophobia of an being trapped in an underground bunker full of questionable objects that make excellent murder weapons but also a time limit of rising water and the only solution is to leave someone behind to operate the winch to save everyone else. Quite the psychological problem! I had fun reading this to see why the murderer was attacking, who it was, and if the group could get out in time.
This was very plot driven, with the story taking priority over character growth and that was okay. Besides, Shotaro the detective, and Shuichi, the narrator of the tale, the other characters kind of blurred together with their politeness and little projects of their own. That being said, it climaxed wonderfully with the reveal of the murderer and that awesome awful twist that I totally did not expect but applauded for the genius of it. I think that is what made this story so great and I will be remembering it for a long time.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to go down into the Ark with this group and find out their thrilling tale! I am glad I got the chance!
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