Customer Reviews

Wicked Dead: Prey

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Chelsea Kauer's life is surrounded by numbers.

Not because she enjoys the occasional mathematical equation, but because her OCD makes her this way. Call her The Count if you have to, but when Chelsea is either tired or stressed, her OCD kicks in on overload and she is forced to count anything from food pellets to the squares on cages. If she doesn't, Chelsea imagines horrible images of animals burning or things falling on her.

One day at work, Chelsea is approached by Ms. Mandisa, her biology teacher. Noticing that Chelsea is working at a pet store, Ms. Mandisa asks if she is able to pet-sit for her own pet. Of course, this would be the perfect job for Chelsea, since not only does she work at a pet store but she want to study animals when she gets into college.

Except Ms. Mandisa's pet isn't the ordinary pet like a dog or cat. Rather, it's a monitor lizard all the way from Egypt.

Skeptical at first, because it is a lizard, a six-foot one at that, Chelsea thought it would be good to kill two birds with one stone by making some extra cash and getting extra credit. Just Chelsea's luck, once Ms. Mandisa leaves, Koko, the lizard, begins to exhibit carnivorous qualities that aren't just for rats. It seems like dogs and other animals are on the menu.

Could Koko really be the culprit in helping these pets disappear or is it just a number of freak accidents? With the help of her understanding boyfriend, Chelsea is trying to get to the bottom of it, before she is at the bottom of Koko's stomach.

With chills and thrills just like the other novels in the WICKED DEAD series, PREY makes you think twice about certain animals, in this case lizards. After finishing this installment, full of bloodthirsty images, readers will shudder at the sight of a lizard. Chelsea is a nice balance to the ever-frightening Koko, and who wouldn't want to have someone like Derek in their life?

Stefan Petrucha and Thomas Pendleton are the new kings of horror, and they definitely know how to create - or even cause - a nightmare!

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Having read and enjoyed Wicked Dead: Lurker, I was eager to read Prey and for the most part, I enjoyed it. Though creature stories are not really my cup of tea, I thought I'd give this a try since I liked the horror-thriller Lurker, also written by Stefan Petrucha and Thomas Pendleton.

In "Prey", the ghostly girls of Lockwood Orphanage are back, but this time it is the ghost of Anne that tells the story. The story here focuses on Chelsea Kauer, a teen with OCD [Obsessive Compulsive Disorder] who juggles schoolwork with a part-time job in a pet store as well as a boyfriend, Derek. Needless to say, the stress of juggling all three causes her OCD to worsen. Thankfully, she has her therapist, "Restrooms" Gambinetti to help her work through her issues.

The horror-thriller part of this story kicks in when Chelsea is roped in by her biology teacher, Ms Eve Mandisa to petsit her pet lizard whilst she goes on a two week vacation. Well, turns out Koko the lizard, is a six-foot long Komodo dragon with an appetite that extends beyond the rat carcasses Eve has been feeding him. Will Chelsea's petsitting efforts be successful, or will she fall 'prey' to Koko's voracious appetite?

Despite the familiar creature on the loose premise, I felt that 'Wicked Dead: Prey" was generally well-written. Chelsea's character was well-developed -portraying a young girl who struggles with the challenges posed by her OCD, and battles her fears, both real and imagined, resulting in a shattering climax. The descriptions of the terror and tension within Eve Mandisa's house as the creature roams freely, looking for prey is certainly well-described, with a suspenseful build-up and chilling atmosphere.

All in all, another entertaining read from the authors of the Wicked dead series. Fans of the series will enjoy this instalment.

This was an o-kay read. Not the best I've read, but not the worst either. Just an average o-kay kind of book.