Emerson Bell – Dropped out of school and spends all her time holed up in her room, gaming. She no longer gets on with her parents, especially her mum, and wants to forget what happened.

Owen Walker – Is getting quite good at acting and loves the applause when he is on stage. He is half Japanese and doesn’t know that his meagre knowledge of Japanese Mythology might just save his life.

Maddy Lyons – Has became an A+ student and competitive swimmer. This helps her try and forget what she and her friends did.

Dax Perkins – A musician who makes a living playing guitar in Cafes. He’s been in hospital for some time, dealing with an event four years before.

Ian Spencer – Went into that cave with his friends four years ago, and never came out.

Naming themselves the Foxtail Five after living on Foxtail Avenue when they were 13 yrs old, the first four are still trying to forget that fateful day. Now 17, they have separate lives and only a supernatural message brings them all back together, albeit unwillingly. They know that they must return to where it happened. To where they left their friend Ian for dead in a strange cave.

Inside the cave they travel through a portal – into their own private horror show. Four years ago, they began to play a card game. They must finish this game and just might, if they survive the challenges each card brings – save Ian.

They bicker and argue as they venture into a fantastical but terrifying labyrinth of horrors, swirled with the myth and legend of Japanese folklore. Dax, Maddy and Emerson put pressure on Owen to unravel their tasks, but his knowledge of his Japanese heritage is sparse.

The further into this chaotic dimension they get, the more they pull together – only to discover a horrifying act of betrayal.

This was not at all what I expected, but as a horror fan I kept reading. If you are a fan of Japanese Horror Folklore, you are going to love this book. The settings were so richly described as monsters leapt from the dark or above, floors fell from under them and ancient women and men helped or hindered the quest to save a friend they had abandoned four years before.

Each chapter is in a different (3rd person) viewpoint, helping me get to know and understand the characters. There is a ‘ticking clock’ aspect, upping the tension, as they must complete the tasks set before a giant eye in the sky fully opens and dawn breaks over the world they have found themselves in.

Action aplenty, and a twist I never saw coming.

Author – Kristen Simmons

Age – 15+

(Violence, Strong Language)

(2023, Horror, Friendship, Crime, Fantasy, Action, Secret, Japanese Folklore, Myth, Monsters, Cave, Challenges, Test, Tasks, Cards to Collect, Alternative World, Violence, Creepy, Courage, Teamwork, Cooperation, Terror, Ghosts, Actor, Gamer, LGBTQ+, Bi, Queer, Love, Swimming, Weaponry)