Trap Door - Dreda Say Mitchell

Reading Challenge Category: Free with Prime Reading

Official Blurb:

100 years ago young women were killed in this workplace. Is history about to repeat itself?
Rachel, a young woman in serious debt, needs to find a job fast before she’s made homeless. She gets a lucky break when she is offered a great position in a successful company. Then she discovers that the building was once a Victorian sweatshop with a tragic history. Is this why Rachel feels something increasingly sinister?
Soon her new job becomes a living nightmare. Rachel desperately wants out, but she has no other way of escaping her debts. She’s trapped. Then she makes a shocking discovery.
Haunted by the death of others and as the present and past begin to close in, Rachel needs to find answers before she finds herself in grave danger…
What is really going on in her workplace?
And can she ever escape her inner demons?

My Thoughts:

This was a truly thrilling and scary ride. I spent the majority of the book with my heart beating out of my chest; the basement was just horrifying.
Everything in this book is creepy and keeps you on the edge of your seat. You know something is wrong, but like Rachel, you can’t quite put your finger on it. The storyline as a whole was fantastic, complex and well thought out.
Rachel wasn’t the best character to be able to get on board with, though. Her actions and how she dealt with things dropped the book from being a five-star read to just four. She was absolutely petrified of being trapped under floors, yet she continues to sleep in the storeroom. Even when it is no longer necessary, she continues to put herself in danger. A lot of her actions made the story seem unrealistic, such as when did she shower? Days and days go by where she goes from the storeroom straight to work; she must have smelt to high heaven! Just a few added details like this and eating would have rounded out the story and character.
There are lots of twists and turns towards the end as everything becomes clear, and the prologue becomes apparent. I often forget about a prologue once I am ensconced in a book; however, this one did keep flashing through my mind to tie in with Rachel’s fears. Once again, Rachel’s actions at the end were frustrating; she didn’t need to return and put herself in more danger. I thought this segue to get all the characters in one place was a bit weak.
Keats was an interesting character and her having her mouth covered with a bandanna was a little bit too close to home at the moment with the current COVID masks in effect! She would no longer stand out but blend in!
Overall, a gripping and exciting read. It could have been slightly better with a few tweaks but a good solid four-star read.

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