Fright Bite by Jennifer Killick

Jennifer Killick has done it again. Fright Bite is the fifth book in the Dread Wood series that follows friends Angelo, Gus, Naira, Hallie, and Collette, as they battle against the evil Lachitts and their creepy animal creations.

After the horrors that Club Loser saw in Deadly Deep and the Lachitts being arrested, everyone is feeling a little calmer since nothing can happen now their nemeses are behind bars. Ready to get back to normal life, Club Loser prepare to celebrate Collette’s birthday. Mr C and Collette’s mother have organised the best birthday ever: an all-expense paid evening at the coolest place in all of town, The Neon Perch. Clinging to the side of a massive hill, The Neon Perch overlooks the whole of town and within its glass covered walls awaits the most delightful fun. From Galactic Golf, a sprawling food court and Battle Karts to the Songbird Karaoke, Club Loser are in for an evening of out of this world fun, but the main event still awaits. Deep beneath The Neon Perch is Project Z, a fully immersive zombie zapping escape experience. With anticipation, Club Loser descend towards their mission, but they will soon have to figure out when the game ends and the fight for their lives begins.

Project Z seems too real. Those actors had true terror in their eyes and what about those two creepy zombies that just stared at children. Something does not feel right. Could some new threat be lurking in the shadows? The Lachitts did say that they had some help when on the boat in Deadly Deep. Soon The Neon Perch is transformed from the destination in town for all your entertainment needs to the field on which Club Loser will soon be hunted down. When the enemy can be anywhere, where will it be safe? Club Loser must band together once again to defeat an enemy on their doorstep threatening to take everything away from them.

I have to say Fright Bite is my favourite Dread Wood book so far. Club Loser are all maturing and finding their strengths. The stakes for survival have been ramped up with not only the friend’s lives on the line but their families as well. Secrets long hidden by the Lachitts surface in a shock twist, leaving the group (and one member in particular) reeling. Each Dread Wood book I read just builds upon the last and adds so much more depth to the characters and story. I do not know how Jennifer Killick does it, but she needs to bottle it up and sell it. More stories, particularly Middle Grade horror, need to take the scary risks more like Jennifer does with Dread Wood. With the Last instalment (for now I hope) coming out later this year, I for one cannot wait to see how Club Loser finally triumph over the Lachitts and their evil schemes.