THE RUINS By Scott Smith

Published : 2007
Pages : 528
Overall Mark : 7/10

While on holiday in Cancun, four American tourists, Eric, Jeff, Amy and Stacy meet some Greek and German tourists. The German tourist, Mathias, invites them to help find his brother who has gone missing while investigating some ancient ruins. The Americans and one of the Greeks agree to join him in his search but, once they arrive at the ruins, they find themselves being held prisoner by the local Mayan tribe, who refuse to let them leave the hill where the ruins lie. As they discover that the previous visitors have all been killed, seemingly by the tribe, they slowly begin to fear for their lives!

Although this starts off very slowly, I stuck with it at the recommendation of a friend, and I'm glad I did. Although predominently a downbeat piece with everything really going from bad to worse for the characters, I found myself chuckling about many of the scenarios, even using the terms "nazi.. boyscout" in everyday conversation. This is definitely not the best book I've ever read, but it does have a lot going for it in terms of entertainment value.