This horror novel needs to become a horror movie! From the very beginning, I felt like I was right there with the characters, my anxiety as high as theirs. I loved the descriptions, and got to know each character and couldn’t wait to see what would happen! This is a heart stopping story! A 5 star, must read!!! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

This book got off to a promising start. We're introduced to Hank, a trucker on his way to California. He's a likeable enough character and I was immediately pulled into the story, Not long after Hank is locked in the basement, there's a particularly uncomfortable scene that had me physically cringing, and wondering what I was in for as a reader. Then their captor lets them see what's behind the door on the opposite side of the room and the plot stops being interesting. It's gory, and there's cannibalism and I suppose that's all supposed to be shocking, but if you've read a lot of horror novels, there's nothing new or particularly interesting here.

Disturbing. Disgusting. I loved it! Could not put it down! Believable characters. Likable characters. Cultish. Cannibalism. All the triggers. All of em. I will be recommending this one as our book club read for July! Thanks for letting me read!!

When choosing a hotel, would you ever believe you would end up a prisoner of the hotel owner? Probably no, but that is exactly what happens to Hank a cross country trucker.

This book exceeded my expectations in every way and I have to say I am so surprised this is a debut author! Things I loved: pacing, the haunting spin on the captured/imprisoned angle, size of the chapters, the likeable protagonist, the inside look at the antagonist’s mind and driving factors, the fact that this book teetered on horror rather than thriller, and that twist at the end! I am looking forward to future releases from Alex!

Wow, what an incredibly terrifying and horrifying tale that is also delicious for fans of the horror genre!
Atmospheric and well written by Alex Mura, this creepy tale is easily read in one sitting. It grabs you by the throat and won’t let go until the final page, leaving you shaken and suitably afraid.
Here’s hoping that there is a follow up as I loved all three main characters, despite one being an absolutely hideous psychopath!
This story is different from others in the genre because the characters act in a way that you don’t need to coax them into action, you know the ones, you shout ‘Do it now’ or ‘What are you thinking’?…the writer is on it!
Highly recommended and thoroughly enjoyed, despite the grisly content.
Not at all for the faint hearted but EVERYTHING for fans of the late Richard Laymon.
More please!

A short and easy read with a good sense of pace and plenty of blood. Silence In The Basement has some interesting things to say, though there’s little in the way of new provocations or fresh twists on (over)familiar story beats. The prose is simple, never too complicated to impede the flow of the writing, but rarely stylised enough to set the writer’s voice apart either. The book hints at intriguing themes but doesn’t quite have the space to explore them in the depth they deserve—though it’ll be interesting to see where Mura goes with his next story. Perhaps a longer page count would let sink his teeth into the material.

This was an interesting book, it was a lot more gory and graphic that I thought it would be going into it but it did make me think and wonder what I would do in Hank and Sara's situation. The author did a great job describing what was happening and helping you see the picture for yourself. Although gory horror is not for me the book over all was good. The only part i really didn't care for was the romance between hank and Sara. It was kind of gross and unneeded.

I don't do well with suspense. I get too jittery. This book made my skin crawl with anxiety and stress! That said, WOWZERS this was a great read!!!
If you're a lover of thriller movies, this is the one for you!!!

This is a first person and single pov.

I never felt I knew where the story was going to turn, kept me on my toes. As the story progressed and began evolve, all the new things that came to light, continued to shock me.

The last few pages (and very much the very last line of the book) was absolutely jaw dropping and I full blown gasped!

10/10

Thank you, Alex Mura and NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

This is a dark and twisted book. Cannibalism, death, and the gore. This book will have you bitting your nails until the very end. It certainly made me hope so much for the main characters and hate the bad guy with my whole being. Of course, I was a little iffy about Hanks and Sara's relationship later on in the book, but perhaps I'm just thinking too much into it. Plus, I'm not entirely so sure on the ending, but I'm not spoiling it. Reading this book it does make me wonder what you would be willing to do to survive such an experience? Would I have done what they had, or would I have died?

Two different people, locked in a basement. They need to escape, but their captor is a horrendous Cannibal who wants to play family. Not only that, he wants them to join him in his lifestyle. What's to happen? Will they escape, will they give in, or will they come out of this unscathed? Read and find out.

Reading this book it certainly has me wondering about things. Like, would I survive something like this? What would I do, and by the gods above, I hope this never happens to me or anyone I know. I'm glad the author reached out to me to read this. It was definitely worth the read.

I did enjoy and would give 🌟🌟🌟🌟. It had me hooked from the start and wanted to know what was going to happen. I really felt for Hank and Sara and there were quite a few tense moments. Alex was very good In describing the scenes and I could picture what was going on. I would definitely recommend reading it when it’s released 20th July 2024

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

What a bloody and wild ride!!

I practically devoured the story and finished it within a day. An absolute must-read for book fans who like bloody and gory stories.

I loved the story. However, It loses one star for the "love story"(?) between Hank and Sara. The age difference was completely inappropriate for my taste... The author could have at least adapted saras to hanks age. Why does she have to be SO YOUNG? (18 is still a child in my opinion)

Other than that, I thought everything about the story was great(except the age gap though) and the final ending absolutely killed it!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really want to read more from this author and I'd love to see how Hank's story continues ;)

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