The Ruins

Trapped in the Mexican jungle, a group of friends stumble upon a creeping horror unlike anything they've ever known, in this national bestseller that is soon to be a major motion picture.
Eerie, terrifying, unputdownable--Scott Smith's first novel since his best-selling A Simple Plan ( Simply the best suspense novel of this year--hell, of the 1990s --Stephen King). The Ruins follows two American couples, just out of college, enjoying a pleasant, lazy beach holiday together in Mexico as, on an impulse, they go off with newfound friends in search of one of their group--the young German, who, in pursuit of a girl, has headed for the remote Mayan ruins, site of a fabled archeological dig. This is what happens from the moment the searchers--moving into the wild interior--begin to suspect that there is an insidious, horrific other among them . . . From the Hardcover edition.
Review:
The best horror novel of the new century.
--Stephen King
The Ruins does for Mexican vacations what Jaws did for New England beaches.
-- Entertainment Weekly
The most disturbing novel of the year. -- Time
Smith's nail-biting tension is a pleasure all its own. . . . This stuff isn't for the faint of heart. -- New York Post
A story so scary you may never want to go on vacation, or dig around in your garden, again. -- USA Today
A smart, clean-burning horror machine.
-- New York Times Book Review
A classic horror story, told with mounting, detail. Smith spins it out relentlessly, piling chill on chill on chill. . . . What happens, and needless to say it's not good, is something readers will race page after flapping page to discover. When they do, they will find-well, better set aside eight or nine hours reading time, keep the lights on, and make sure the plants are still in their pots.
--Bill Bell, The Daily News
A fast-paced suspense novel that grabs you and refuses to let go. . . Smith's characterization and timing-the ability to deliver one quick blow after antoher-makes the book so freakishly fun. . . . The story turns grotesque, but Smith's command of his characters and their demons is masterful. . . . The Ruins is chilling, an icy dissection of human nature in a hot, horrifying place.
--John Caniglia, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
An exercise in unremitting tension . . . Smith writes in clear, vivid language with elegant sentences.
--Diane Scharper, The Baltimore Sun
One of the most terrifying, creepy, riveting novels that will hit the bookstores this summer. . . . Smith sculpts each of thecharacters, making us care very much about what happens to these young, naive and sometimes selfish individuals. . . . The Ruins has a claustrophobic feel, which adds to the palpatations of suspense. The great outdoors might as well be a dark, dingy basement full of things that go bump in the night as Smith finds new ways to frighten with his setting.
--Oline H. Cogdill, The Sun-Sentinel
Reading Scott Smith is like having a rope tied firmly round your middle, as you're pulled on protesting tiptoes toward a door marked DOOM. . . . Smith is a master of the 'if only' scenario, that most foolish and pungent form of regret . . . At its heart, The Ruins is an old-fashioned horror story, and it's the invasive, intuitive killer that provides the ice-water dread. . . . It's Thomas Harris meets Poe in a decidedly timely story: Smith has tapped into our anxieties about global warming, lethal weather, supergerms-our collective fear that nature is finally battling back-and given us a decidedly organic nightmare. Grade: A-.
--Gillian Flynn, Entertainment Weekly
Once again, Smith ( A Simple Plan ) deftly explores psychological tension and insidious fears. A perfect beach read; just don't stray too far from the lifeguard.
-- Library Journal
A word of caution to readers, gentle and otherwise: Do not pick up a copy of Scott Smith's The Ruins if you have anything else you need to do in the next eight hours or so. Don't start this book if you're especially weak of stomach or nerves, and above all don't pick it up if you're not willing to tolerate some