A Review of Caryn Larrinaga's "Mouse Trap"

Caryn Larrinaga’s Mouse Trap is a quick, quiet horror read that will leave its audience satisfied and relieved. 

Dakota’s family has suffered...a lot. Her parents had dreamed of fostering and adopting many children, but when their youngest of three dies tragically in the family home, those dreams die with him. Years later, Dakota, the middle child, returns to the family home to help bury her agoraphobic older brother, Lennox. Lennox had promised to protect her from the force she was sure killed her little brother. But now that Lennox is dead, who will look out for Dakota? And is it her grief haunting her or something darker, more nefarious? 

This was a solid story with a satisfying ending that leaves the reader hopeful. The lightness at the end, however, does not permeate the story throughout, and there is plenty of tension to the otherwise quiet, not-very-gory plot. It’s one of those stories where you’re never quite sure whether the protagonist’s suffering is coming from within or without. Dakota is flawed but likable, though we have more sympathy for her deceased brother. That has to be deliberate on the author’s part.  

Mouse Trap is a fine read for an afternoon or a weekend for fans of quiet horror that is neither gruesome nor overwrought. I received the ebook from NetGalley, and I look forward to seeing what else Caryn Larrinaga has written.