The Mall by Richie Tankersley Cusick

9/10

Shop till you drop... dead.

Trish has everything a girl wants; friends, a good mother and a job at the local mall's muffin shop, but that was until someone calls at her shop, then when she tries to ignore him, the phone calls start, then she really feels scared as she starts to realise he is watching every move she makes. She has no idea who he is and what he wants from her, but soon she is going to find out.

If you've read Help Wanted, April Fools, Trick or Treat, The Lifeguard and Teacher's Pet, you'll know how good a writer Richie Tankersley Cusick is. Trish thinks her job as a counter assistant at the Muffin house is a good one, but when her stalker gets to her emotionally, her work suffers and her boss, Bethany gives her hell for it. Trish's mystery stalker keeps cropping up everywhere she goes, whether it's at the mall or out with her friends. She keeps seeing him, but in different disguises, and he lets her know he is watching her. While everyone thinks the mall is a great place for customers to shop, especially teens who want to buy the latest trendy mall goods, a friend tells Trish of the mall's big, terrible secret, that several girls have gone missing and never been found. She wonders if she will be the next and decides to act before the stalker can strike.

The stalker, however has other ideas of what he wants to do with her as he has watched her from afar, and follows her. In fact he thinks she is the perfect girl for him. Secrets, lies, truth uncovered – it's all here and two other men, Storm and Wyatt who want to protect her, but do they really? They act as though they have her best interests in mind, when she is in several accidents and they are always ready to help, but it’s her friends who are right there when she needs them.

This book is creepy, spooky and should never be read with the lights off.