Trapped in Room 217 by Thomas Kingsley Troupe
Expected Release: September 1st 2018
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Source: NetGalley
Trapped in Room 217 Synopsis:
Jayla Walters isn’t sure what to expect when her father’s job uproots her and her brother, Dion, to Estes Park, Colorado. But right away, something doesn’t seem right with their hotel. Jayla soon discovers that their home for the week, room 217 of the Stanley Hotel, is the most haunted place in all of Colorado. Barely asleep the first night, Jayla watches a ghostly woman walk toward her bed. And the ghost visits her room every night. What does the ghost want? And what happens when Jayla and Dion get in her way?
Every state has its own spine-tingling stories of ghosts and mysterious haunting grounded in its regional history. The Haunted States of America series uses real-life ghost lore as jumping off points to new, chilling tales. But beware: sometimes real life is stranger than fiction.
Review:
A BIG Thank You to NetGalley, North Star Editions and Jolly Fish Press for providing me a copy of “Trapped in Room 217″ by Thomas Kingsley Troupe in exchange for my review. This book is interesting primarily because it is based on real events.
Jayla and Dion are likable characters and they come off as an interesting detective duo. They both have distinctive personalities, where Jayla is the impulsive girl lunging into danger, while Dion is the smart, cautious one. Personally, I liked Dion more than Jayla because he seemed smarter than his elder sister most of the time. However, my favorite character was Reuben. This man is so kind and friendly, and has a lot of fun trivia about the hotel. If I even went to a hotel to garner historical facts on it, I would love to interact with someone like him. Probably the only character I didn’t have much regard for was the father. He didn’t seem to be too interested in what his kids were involved in.
The story is short and fast paced. As this book is targeted for a younger audience, I didn’t expect to get shocked by the events taking place. However, I did get shocked towards the end on how Elizabeth reacts, and was wondering what would happen next. It’s a shame that the book was short as I would have loved to read about some of the other ghosts residing there. I also enjoyed the fact that the author indirectly credits Stephen King in the book. The tour guide in one scene mentions a horror book that was inspired by an author’s stay at the hotel. After researching, I found that Stephen King stayed at the Stanley and it inspired him to write “The Shining”!
Thomas Kingsley Troupe has done a nice job of blending facts with fiction. I am keen on checking out other books in the “Haunted States in America” series. I can’t comment much on the illustrations by Maggie Ivy, as the advanced copy didn’t have the illustrations in place. In fact, I wish this copy contained the illustrations as well. It would have been fun to see the reactions of the characters through the illustrations.
Overall, “Trapped in Room 217” is a quick, fun and easy read if you are in the mood for something spooky. Even though it is for a younger audience, I feel that people of any age group would enjoy this book. I rate the book 4/5 stars.
