Audio Book Review: Locked Inside by Nancy Werlin

Marnie's lived a charmed, but lonely life. Her mother has just recently died, leaving her millions of dollars to inherit, but without a family. She's enrolled in a prestigious boarding school, but has no real friends and spends much of her time playing in virtual world online.  There, she meets a boy named "Elf" and he is one of the only people that she has a connection with.

When Marnie is kidnapped her crazed, psychopathic chemistry teacher, she finds out just how alone she is. This teacher, Leah, claims that she, too, is Marnie's mother's daughter. When all seems hopeless, the Elf somehow comes to her and she's no longer alone. But, they're both stuck and don't know how (or if) they're going to escape.

I've read several books by Nancy Werlin at this point. Some are among my favorite reads and others are not. Unfortunately, this book fell in the latter category. I was just not engaged in the book, even though the reader, Emily Durante, did an amazing job.

I did not hate this book and it had many areas of high interest for me. I think that the parts that lost me happened right away. I am not a gamer and have very little understanding of gaming worlds. Once Marnie is kidnapped, I was definitely hooked. But, this part of the book became so bizarre (and not in a good way) and preposterous that I could just not believe it.

And, the book goes on. And it didn't really get better for me. I wish that this were not true, because I have loved some of Werlin's other books (The Killer's Cousin, The Rules of Survival) and wanted to love this one. Alas, that did not happen. But, I will look forward to reading more from this author and from the woman who read this book.

Read By: Emily Durante

Length: 6 hrs. 40 mins. 

**This audio book counts toward my participation in the 2011 Audio Book Challenge from Teresa's Reading Corner and Whisper Stories in My Ear Audio Book Challenge**