Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Hanabi Press for an ARC of Silence In The Basement in exchange for an honest review.

Hank is a truck driver, who stops at a seedy motel to rest...and ends up fighting for his life.

First of all, I'd like to say that this probably shouldn't be marketed as "new adult," as I did find parts to be pretty extreme and graphic, akin to several splatterpunk novels I've read recently. The first half definitely felt like more along the lines of a kidnapping thriller, but quickly turned to extreme horror by the end.

Silence In The Basement was actually a fantastic debut novel. It was fast-paced, the story flowed well, and it was violent and terrifying. I also thought it was very well-written. I did find the plot to be a bit predictable, but the story was written well enough that I didn't mind. I enjoyed the reasoning for Mal's actions, I thought it was an interesting twist on a kidnapping story. That being said, I kind of saw the ending coming but it was still shocking and (dare I say it) satisfying, nonetheless.

I was slightly confused about the relationship between Hank and Sara; the random romantic interest between them for the brief scene threw me off because of the age gap/how she was barely 18, and the fact that most of the time he was comparing her to his daughter. That part kind of gave me the ick, but also in such a bleak situation it made sense in the moment, I suppose. I also found a small continuity error - regarding the back room in the basement. I won't go into detail as to not give away any plot spoilers, but it did open up some questions.

I can't wait to see what this author has in store for future novels, because this was really entertaining. I'll be thinking about this one for a while!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

If you love a page turning thriller that will make you love the main characters & hate the bad guy, all while trying not to vomit, this is the book for you! I was given the chance to read this ARC by NetGalley and whoa! Let me tell you! I will not be able to get this story out of my mind for a lonnnng time! There is some gore but overall, the storyline is AMAZING!

Alex Mura is a very talented writer! It felt like I was watching a movie play out in my mind while reading this! Well done!

1 - there is no way this should be classified as teen and YA.
2 - it’s horror not thriller.

I felt like this book was a mash up of other books I’ve read before. There was nothing new or intriguing and really it was GRIM. That’s probably because it was a lot more dark than I was expecting from the teen/YA tag. It was a very quick read but it wasn’t for me.

This is a fantastic frightening horror story which starts out with a familiar trope but takes a twisted turn by the time you're done reading.

A long haul truck driver decides to stay at a motel late one night. He gets knocked out and wakes up to find himself tied to a chair in a basement. There's another person down there chained to the wall. A young woman who claims to have been there a month already.

Their kidnapper is a cannibal with some psychopathic tendencies. But he doesn't want to kill these two nor eat them. He wants them to join him and be a "family".

That's all I'll say about the books narrative but it becomes a game of psychological cat and mouse if they ever have a chance of escaping.

It's good and gory in some places and I like the first person narrative because it made me feel closer to the characters. One thing that stands out is that, except for the opening scenes, the entirety of this book takes place in the basement. This really helps create a hopeless claustrophobic feel and feeds the already tightly wound tension. I highly recommend this book.

This is a great book with a couple of fun twists. There is a little bit of gore in the second half, but nothing too over the top. This book is a new take on a kidnapping story. The reason behind the kidnapping is intriguing and takes most of the book to truly understand. I do wish there would have been a little more detail regarding the main character’s family and the police search. Overall great book that keeps you hooked from beginning to end. A solid 4-4.5 stars.

Received a free ARC from NetGalley, and this review is voluntary

The synopsis for the book is the story, overall. After Hank is captured, most of the plot is the interactions between him, Sara and the captor. We also see more of Hank's internal thoughts, and his past memories. The life he lived. The situation for Hank and Sara gets worse as things progress.

Specific sections were a little blurry because the story would dip in and out of Hank's past memories, but for the most part, it's a lot of conversation between the three characters. For the most part it wasn't bad. Bit of a slow burn. Pretty wild ending.

debut author and very impressive writing,easy to read and follow and good dialogue and descriptive writing - the subject was not to my taste!! but I am giving the book 4 stars as the writing was so good