The Ruins

I was this close to writing a bad review of "The Ruins" by Scott Smith. It was just so formulaic, so predictable. His first novel was "A Simple Plan," which was made into a movie starring Billy Bob Thornton and Bill Paxton. Most of the time while reading "The Ruins" I couldn't help but think I was reading a screenplay. It's the perfect summer thriller/horror movie. Get four good-looking young actors, put them in an exotic locale (Mexico, in this case), add creepy horror element, and voila! Instant PG-13 horror flick guaranteed to rake in the dough. So I sped through the book in about a week (remember, I am a Stephen King fan, so I eat this stuff up), all the while expecting a certain outcome. Then, not in any particular twisty kind of way (because that would have been disappointing too), things started to happen that turned my opinion around. It's still not a literary masterpiece by any stretch. But it's a fun quick read for your last summer trip.
Lisa just picked up "Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell, so if I'm lucky, she'll finish it quickly so that I can read it too. But as a contingency, I'm going to pick up The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow for my next book.