Trapped - A Novel of Terror [Kindle Edition]

J.A. Konrath (Author), Jack Kilborn (Author)

Book Description

**There are six books in the Konrath/Kilborn Collective. ORIGIN, THE LIST, AFRAID, TRAPPED, and ENDURANCE are the first five, and can be read in any order. The sixth, HAUNTED HOUSE, contains characters from each of the previous books.**

TERRIFIED...

It was supposed to be a harmless camping trip. Six wayward teenagers who'd run into trouble with the law, and their court-appointed guardians, Sara and Martin Randhurst. Three nights on a small, deserted island off of Michigan's upper peninsula. A time to bond, to learn, to heal.

Then Martin told a campfire story about the island's history. Of the old civil war prison hidden in there, and the starving confederate soldiers who resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. Everyone thought it was funny. They even laughed when Martin pretended to be dragged off into the woods.

But Martin didn't come back. And neither did Sara when she went in search of him.

Then the laughter stopped.

...TO DEATH

The group soon began to realize that this deserted island wasn't so deserted after all. And perhaps Martin's ridiculous story had more truth to it than anyone thought.

What's the most horrifying thing you can imagine?

This is a hundred times worse...

TRAPPED by Jack Kilborn
It starts where other horror ends


A Word of Warning

This is the long-awaited follow-up to AFRAID, one of the most horrifying books ever written.

Originally scheduled to be released in paperback in 2010, the publisher read the first version of the manuscript and refused to release it. The author made extensive changes, rewriting much of the story. The publisher still refused.

This is a disturbing, terrifying book. You may think you're brave enough to handle it. But you're probably not...

Contains bonus excerpts from ENDURANCE by Jack Kilborn, and AFRAID by Jack Kilborn, as well as DESERT PLACES by Blake Crouch.

But that's not all...

Taking advantage of ebook format and technology, the author is also proud to offer as a bonus; the entire original first draft of TRAPPED.

This ebook package contains two versions of the same book, dramatically different in parts. See what was cut. See what was changed. Read new characters, new scenes, and a different ending. Decide for yourself which version you prefer.

This is the very first time an ebook has been made available in two different versions, for one low price.

This is specially formatted for Kindle, with an active table of contents. With both versions, this ebook is over 180,000 words.


About the Author
JA Konrath is the author of eight novels in the Jack Daniels thriller series. They do not have to be read in chronological order to be enjoyed, but for those who want to know it is: Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Dirty Martini, Fuzzy Navel, Cherry Bomb, Shaken, and Stirred.

Jack also appears in the novels Shot of Tequila, Flee, Spree, Three, Timecaster Supersymmetry, Banana Hammock, and Serial Killers Uncut, as well as the short story collection Jack Daniels Stories, and the novellas Floaters and Burners.

Last Call, the ninth Jack Daniels novel, will be available in summer of 2013.

Jack Kilborn is the horror pen name for author J.A. Konrath. The Konrath/Kilborn Collective includes six novels. The sixth, Haunted House, stars characters from each of the five previous novels. These novels, in order, are:

THE LIST
ORIGIN
AFRAID
TRAPPED
ENDURANCE
HAUNTED HOUSE

He has sold over a million ebooks

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

J.A. Konrath Interviews Jack Kilborn

JA: Thanks for taking time to answer some questions, Jack.

Jack: I've heard of you. You write those chick novels, right?

JA: I write about a female cop who chases serial killers. Some folks think they're pretty scary. Both men and women enjoy the series, but it's a bit harder-edged than the average suspense novel.

Jack: Aren't you the guy that visited 600 bookstores in one summer? Signed thousands of books?

JA: That's me.

Jack: I haven't seen your name on any bestseller lists.

JA: So, how would you describe AFRAID?

Jack: I tried to write a thriller that included every kind of fear possible. Fear of the dark, or being chased, of drowning, of authority, of burning, of losing a loved one, of pain, of disfigurement...and, of course, fear of being horribly murdered.

JA: What's the plot?

Jack: A helicopter crashes near the small town of Safe Haven, Wisconsin. It's so tiny it has a population of 904. But not for long.

JA: So the helicopter lets something loose in town?

Jack: Something horrible. The town can't defend itself either--no police force. Soon it's quarantined, and everyone is fighting for their lives.

JA: I was lucky enough to read an advanced reader copy of AFRAID. It scared the hell out of me.

Jack: Thanks. I'm predicting that at least 25% of people who start the book won't be able to finish it because it's too frightening. It gave me nightmares when I was writing it.

JA: There certainly are some memorable scares.

Jack: I didn't use any chapters in the book. My goal was to go from one high point to another without any breaks. I hope it worked.

JA: It worked for me. You call it "technohorror." What is that?

Jack: The technothriller genre is about fusing modern day science and technology with big thrills. Michael Crichton perfected the form, which has been used to great success by Dan Brown, James Rollins, Steve Berry, and many others. Technohorror views technology in a more sinister way.

JA: Do you think the scenario in AFRAID could happen?

Jack: I wouldn't be surprised if it already has.

JA: You've sort of come out of nowhere. Care to share your writing background?

Jack: It's probably similar to yours. Bitten by the writing bug at a young age, getting a lot of rejections, finally landing a two-book deal with a big publishing house.

JA: I like the Afraid Game on your website.

Jack: Thanks. It's a fun little Flash thing I did. People seem to enjoy it.

JA: So what's next for Jack Kilborn?

Jack: I wrote two other horror novels, TRAPPED and ENDURANCE, which are just as intense as AFRAID. I also wrote the novel DRACULAS with some good friends. It's a balls-to-the-wall zombie book.

JA: Zombies? Aren't draculas vampires?

Jack: Read it and see for yourself. These monsters make zombies look like your grandma.

JA: My grandma is dead.

Jack: The living dead?

JA: The dead where you don't move around or try to eat people.

Jack: Bummer.

JA: Getting back to AFRAID, I liked it so much I'd be happy to blurb it.

Jack: I'm sort of holding out for blurbs from bestselling authors, if you don't mind. No offense.

JA: No offense taken. Maybe you'd like to blurb one of my books, if you have time.

Jack: One of those chick books? Sure. But I can't promise I'll like it.

JA: CHERRY BOMB has a four page sex scene, several torture-murders, and an extended female fist fight.

Jack: I'll give you my address so you can send me a copy.

About the Author

Jack Kilborn is the pen name of J.A. Konrath, who has written seven Jack Daniels thrillers (Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Dirty Martini, Fuzzy Navel, Cherry Bomb, and Shaken.) Under the name Jack Kilborn, he wrote the horror novels Afraid, Trapped, Endurance, and Draculas.

Product Details

• File Size: 1023 KB
• Print Length: 332 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: B0055SZPRU
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Joe Konrath (June 20, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003TFESNS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Occult
  • #3 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Konrath (Kilborn) has made me a fan of horror again! June 26, 2010

By Southern Kindle

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Just finished Trapped and Konrath's other new release Endurance (A Novel of Terror) and both will keep me awake at night, listening for things that go bump in the night!

Living in an RV in the backwoods adds an additional element of fear while reading Trapped. I can easily imagine disappearing in the swamp out back, living out the terror of the characters in this book. There were several surprises in the book (who are the bad guys?) and being originally from Michigan myself, it added something to my late-night page-turning.

The faint-of-heart and those that don't enjoy pure gore and terror should avoid this book and find something tamer. But fans of Konrath's brand of horror will not be disappointed and will stay up late enjoying the chills running down your back.

Caution! If your plans for the summer include camping on a deserted island, you might want to rethink! :)

63 of 69 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Really? I mean, Really?? December 25, 2011

By Casey C.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

OK, got a new Kindle for Christmas. Am broke, since it's Christmas, so a cheapie thriller on the new device seemed like the way to go. The initial premise of the book, as presented on the website, sounded interesting. But I didn't set my expectations tremendously high. I expected to be entertained cheaply. I figured the book would be predictable, but hoped to find some characters I could get into and care about, and maybe a semi-believable plot line I could follow. Boy, was I disappointed.

The writing in this book is just silly. Thug-with-a-heart and meth-addicted chick are running through the woods, her shirt off because, of course, they needed it for a torch and they couldn't very well take HIS shirt off, could they? And, while being chased by cannibals bent on making them into hors d'ouvres, the guy, in the middle of fleeing for their lives, says, "Girl, I know this ain't the time, but, damn, if you don't look good in nothin' but that bra." Really? What's he expect? That she'll say, "No time like the present, and we probably won't make it through the night, so let's go, Stud!" I mean, REALLY???

That's only one of many examples of completely unbelievable, and I mean laughably unbelievable, story line in this book. "Honey, I know you've been injured to the point of near-disability, and will never be the same physically again, and that we're surrounded by cannibals bent on sucking the marrow from our bones and the bones of our little baby, but I couldn't help but notice you haven't yet signed the divorce papers." As the teenaged girls in my area love to say, Oh Em Gee!

I'll be deleting this one. Don't know how many books this Kindle thing will hold, but I won't waste space on this!

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite as good or scary as ENDURANCE. September 24, 2010

By Kayla R.

Format:Kindle Edition

I may be alone in this assessment, but ENDURANCE was a far scarier and much more engrossing.

I just couldn't get into TRAPPED as much as I did with ENDURANCE. The Characters were not as engaging, the plot was not quite as intense, and I just didn't think it was as much of a page-turner.

Not that it didn't have its scary moments. There was plenty of that. But, it wasn't as much of a trill ride as his other book was, for me.

That's just my opinion, though.

I'd still read other stuff by this author.

~KR~

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good June 27, 2010

By Joe G. Steinbrunner

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read both stories and would rate them both very good. However, I liked many parts of the 2nd (original version) better. I think the minimal sexual content removed to make the rewrite took away from the realism of the story (who was the rewrite for? were they trying to make the story a book for grade school kids to make book reports). The cause for Sara's fears was better told in the original then in the rewrite plus Lester and Georgia's first meeting was better. I also liked the very final ending in the original. If I had not read the rewrite first, I would have rated the original better - since I read one right after the other, I would have just preferred to have the few minor sections that were changed rather the the entire story to wade through. The rewrite did hold together better.

I took one star away because when the author was telling us the thoughts of one or two characters, I thought he crossed the line and he misrepresented their thoughts. It is OK to have characters lie while saying things to other characters or have other characters mis-explain another characters thoughts, but you do not have a character mis-thinking. Overall, very good. I am very happy that Konrath is going directly to ebooks and is making more money plus getting us readers better priced material. I had never read a book by Mr. Konrath until I read "Origin" for free, then I read almost all and await his next. I also enjoyed "Endurance" which I thought was a bit more of a horror book then "Trapped"

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Poorly Written April 17, 2011

By Tender Moon

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is so poorly written that I gave up before I even got to the gore....foolish dialog ("my bad???") and non existent character development. Glad I only paid .99. Couldn't wait to delete this from my Kindle. Save your money.

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your $2.99, or .09 for that matter February 10, 2011

By War Child

Format:Kindle Edition

Quite honestly, leaving aside the grisly subject matter of the book (which is simply a masturbatory exercise by the author, it appears), it is still one of the most poorly written books I have ever read. Astoundingly poor character development, and no plot other than that which might be found in the scribblings of a seventeen year old "Saw" fan. MEMO TO AUTHOR: spend some time around normal people, to get a handle on how actual people talk, and to gauge how real people might react in different situations. This book was so tone deaf about its characters that at every turn I found myself thinking, "This can't get any worse, no one can be this stupid." I could not have been more wrong.