When I was a high school senior many of my friends and I were in Honors English. Because of the assignments in those classes, we sometimes went to the university library to do research. One of the English teachers at our school warned us, "Don't go into the stacks alone." When we pressed her for the reason behind her warning she eventually told us that she was worried that college students might get fresh with us. So we always went in pairs or groups, to prevent the sexual harassment she seemed to think might happen if we were alone.
That teacher had never read this book, obviously, and neither had we. If it had been published back in the day (no, I am not naming a specific year), then we would have had much more specific reasons to be afraid. Jurczyk has created a self-contained world down in the stacks, after hours, with the exits locked. The people gathered there to perform an ancient ritual each have their own reasons to participate. Ostensibly they all want to see if this ritual can actually "free those who take part in it from the fear of death." This last night before graduation and their next step into a wider world seems the perfect time to cut loose their fears.
Instead, one death follows another. Different causes for the deaths have the survivors of each fatality accusing one another, forming alliances that shift with each new event, and coming up with theories about who is behind the deaths and what their motivations are. For soon-to-be college graduates, none of them seem very good at communicating. Readers can see what the characters are reacting to and what their conclusions are, but they don't make their reasoning clear to each other and always hold things back, making their answers seem suspicious and self-serving. Eventually the readers and characters all wonder if anyone will be left alive when the library opens in the morning.
If you enjoy stories that take place in supposedly civilized settings (after all, what can be more sedate and safe than a library), but where the action turns that possible safe haven into an increasingly hysterical and frenzied fight for survival - then pick up a copy right away. But read it with the lights on.
I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.
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