“There Should Have Been Eight” - Nalini Singh

Isolated gothic mansion ✅

Spotty cell service ✅

Looming frigid storm ✅

Creepy doll ✅

🌨️Set in a crumbling mansion located miles away from civilization (why choose here for your reunion, guys?), in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, TSHBE gives similar vibes to “The Hunting Party” with a semi-estranged group of friends reuniting, and a strong, manipulative friend at the center of it all.

🌨️ Singh nails the vibes. Atmospheric levels are through the roof with this one. Lovers of thrillers, don’t give this one a miss!

🌨️ The “uncanny valley” is a concept in AI and robotics that describes the eerie unease people experience when they encounter something that is very nearly but not quite humanlike. If the realism of the robot or humanoid figure improves to the point of being convincingly lifelike, the revulsion is replaced by familiarity. For further information on this unsettling phenomenon, check out the article by Rina D. Caballar published in IEEE Spectrum. With the rapid advances in AI, I expect to see this become a common fixture in contemporary thrillers.

🌨️ The narrator, Luna, whose observations we rely upon from the beginning, is a photographer (given to carefully watching everyone as if they’re her subjects), who has recently learned that she will eventually face a total loss of sight due to a rare disease. While it certainly adds depth and pathos to her story, Singh seems to drop this angle all-together as the story picks up pace.

🌨️ My only gripe is the phrase “my best friend” repeatedly used by Luna to refer to Vansi. By the third time, we get it…x22 in fact.