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The Cave
An experienced clinical psychologist, Helen Myrer has been immersed in the study of society's most troubled minds. She decides to leave her high-pressure world for rest and rejuvenation at the isolated cabin her late husband called the Old Secret, a place where she once shared the magic of a wonderful marriage. But once she walks into the little house in the New Hampshire woods, with Lake Glory glinting down below, she will find no rest.
Instead, this woman of intelligence, strength, and success is about to enter a labyrinth of the most terrifying order - a maze of human depravity that will take her to the farthest reaches of her own courage and will to survive.
Instead, this woman of intelligence, strength, and success is about to enter a labyrinth of the most terrifying order - a maze of human depravity that will take her to the farthest reaches of her own courage and will to survive.
- GenresFiction
278 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1997
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78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 17, 2022
deeply disturbing.
August 27, 2014
THE CAVE was one of those books that I just discovered pretty semi-randomly -- in this case, some klutzy guy, trying to show off for a group of high school girls studying for their SAT's, fell against a book cart, knocked a few books over, then haphazardly stuck them back on the shelves wherever he felt like it, I guess. One of them he stuffed onto the display of books suggested by the librarian, which ended up being this one --- THE CAVE. I decided that an accidental recommendation was as good as a reason as any other, so I borrowed the book without reading any of the blurb on the back.
Now, the back cover compares this novel to a James Patterson story, and I must admit that I'm not all that familiar with Patterson's work -- or with this whole suspense/creepiness genre as a whole. The gist of this one is that a therapist decides to escape from the chaos of her work life in a secluded cabin that her husband enjoyed before he died, several years earlier. Instead of this excursion being one of relaxation and peacefulness, the therapist soon discovers that a masked shadow is lurking in her cabin -- with a detailed and devious plot to kidnap her, manipulate her, and ultimately make her one of his hundreds of prized murders.
However, the therapist (whose name I can't even remember, which unfortunately highlights the fact that this story ultimately just isn't that remarkable and memorable for me. If I hadn't already returned the book, I would find the name -- but it's really not THAT important in the end, I guess!) feels that she has the upper hand on the situation, since she can psychoanalyze her captor and get to the bottom of what REALLY makes him tick. This way, she can subtly lead him to the freedom she deserves -- and the jail sentence that certainly awaits him in the near future.
But, her captor is infinitely more prepared than she ever expected, and he can oddly anticipate her next move before she even understands her direction. So, who will win this deadly game of cat and mouse, since both of these characters have made a living out of influencing the minds of others?
I think THE CAVE was an interesting enough premise, and I loved the idea of a therapist as the victim (first, because clinical psychology is my ultimate career path, and second, because I thought it would be fascinating to see the internal conflict between the psychological control she exhibits in her daily life with the unfamiliar vulnerability she displays as the victim). And, I do think that there was a lot of insight and sensitivity displayed through the inner workings of the main character. But, I can also see where a lot of the internal dialogue could just feel like endless psychobabble, since it did seem to go on a bit excessively at points.
I liked the perspective of a strangely unreliable narrator, as she became less attached to reality the longer she was in this desperate situation -- and it was especially interesting contrasted with the unreliability of the captor as well -- since he could been seen as either excessively advanced or madly childlike in his actions. That said, I was expecting a LOT more from the ending, which just felt like a disappointment somehow -- and it seemed a little odd that THE CAVE, of the title, didn't come about until the very last few chapters of the book.
For those who love the idea of a creepy, disturbing story of suspense, but who aren't overly saturated in the genre or detracted by the possibility of ongoing psychobabble, I think THE CAVE is probably worth a shot. I doubt I'll remember much about this book a few months down the road, but it was worth the time the first go around, I suppose!
Now, the back cover compares this novel to a James Patterson story, and I must admit that I'm not all that familiar with Patterson's work -- or with this whole suspense/creepiness genre as a whole. The gist of this one is that a therapist decides to escape from the chaos of her work life in a secluded cabin that her husband enjoyed before he died, several years earlier. Instead of this excursion being one of relaxation and peacefulness, the therapist soon discovers that a masked shadow is lurking in her cabin -- with a detailed and devious plot to kidnap her, manipulate her, and ultimately make her one of his hundreds of prized murders.
However, the therapist (whose name I can't even remember, which unfortunately highlights the fact that this story ultimately just isn't that remarkable and memorable for me. If I hadn't already returned the book, I would find the name -- but it's really not THAT important in the end, I guess!) feels that she has the upper hand on the situation, since she can psychoanalyze her captor and get to the bottom of what REALLY makes him tick. This way, she can subtly lead him to the freedom she deserves -- and the jail sentence that certainly awaits him in the near future.
But, her captor is infinitely more prepared than she ever expected, and he can oddly anticipate her next move before she even understands her direction. So, who will win this deadly game of cat and mouse, since both of these characters have made a living out of influencing the minds of others?
I think THE CAVE was an interesting enough premise, and I loved the idea of a therapist as the victim (first, because clinical psychology is my ultimate career path, and second, because I thought it would be fascinating to see the internal conflict between the psychological control she exhibits in her daily life with the unfamiliar vulnerability she displays as the victim). And, I do think that there was a lot of insight and sensitivity displayed through the inner workings of the main character. But, I can also see where a lot of the internal dialogue could just feel like endless psychobabble, since it did seem to go on a bit excessively at points.
I liked the perspective of a strangely unreliable narrator, as she became less attached to reality the longer she was in this desperate situation -- and it was especially interesting contrasted with the unreliability of the captor as well -- since he could been seen as either excessively advanced or madly childlike in his actions. That said, I was expecting a LOT more from the ending, which just felt like a disappointment somehow -- and it seemed a little odd that THE CAVE, of the title, didn't come about until the very last few chapters of the book.
For those who love the idea of a creepy, disturbing story of suspense, but who aren't overly saturated in the genre or detracted by the possibility of ongoing psychobabble, I think THE CAVE is probably worth a shot. I doubt I'll remember much about this book a few months down the road, but it was worth the time the first go around, I suppose!
September 13, 2014
The jacket of this book does not do justice to the story. It wasn't amazing, but it did keep me in suspense and at times sick to my stomach with dread. A clinical psychologist leaves the city for an isolated cabin with the promise of rest and relaxation. Instead, she enters the sick mind of a man as twisted as the game he forces her to play. It was not gruesome, but there were times I had to stop reading, to compose myself before continuing.
5 stars for the way it made me feel, but 3 because the story could have been more fleshed out and interesting.
5 stars for the way it made me feel, but 3 because the story could have been more fleshed out and interesting.
February 21, 2024
Claustrophobic, but wordy, this novel is the story of a serial killer's effort to make a psychiatric doctor his latest victim. If the book was a little longer in the way of plot twists and action and less about how the doctor kept trying to "save" the murderer, then I would have enjoyed it more. The author gives the murderer way too many preternatural powers, too.
February 15, 2024
konnts nicht weg legen
October 15, 2021
Kidnapping torture and escape attempts gone wrong. Writing was ok, I got lost in the dialog a few times and had to go back to figure out who was speaking. Plot was ok, was slow for me at times. The main female character annoyed me.
June 25, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. I don’t usually read suspense but this kept me pretty close to the edge of my seat.
I do wish that the character would have been easier to connect to. With the character’s background in psychology it was difficult to understand where she was coming from at some points.
I do wish that the character would have been easier to connect to. With the character’s background in psychology it was difficult to understand where she was coming from at some points.
January 8, 2025
It starts with a bang but then...nothing. It drags on for 3 quarter of the book, with a flat ending. It seems to be an important element of the story that the main character is a psychoanalyst but she doesn't use it in any interesting way. She might as well have been a mechanics.
August 23, 2021
weird and disturbing story; I kept waiting to figure out why my brother recommended it
September 14, 2021
Scariest book I’ve ever read, can easily see this as a movie. Well done
June 19, 2025
2.5 stars - just not into this kind of psycho-killer-novels anymore.
December 26, 2015
The idea was good, the achievement was bad.
I'm not saying that I hated the book (I've read worse), but I clearly disliked it. From the third chapter or so. It's not even scary or anything, it's only disgusting at best. You have more details than you need about every torture, and not enough of anything else.
Plus, I guess you're supposed to support Helen who's the victim here, but the book being from her POV, her psychiatrist POV, it was full of her boringly condescending and know-it-all tone, and there were times when I truly wondered whether I really wanted her to get away or not. And the parts from Kevin's journal were quite the same, full of himself and stuffs. So yeah, very annoying to read.
And to achieve this mediocrity, the ending is merely unfinished business. It was kind of "let's wrap it up and be done with it" and a bit too easy after everything that happened... Or maybe it's because I got sick of this book halfway and decided to finish it anyway that the ending seemed so bad. I don't know, I don't care.
I'm not saying that I hated the book (I've read worse), but I clearly disliked it. From the third chapter or so. It's not even scary or anything, it's only disgusting at best. You have more details than you need about every torture, and not enough of anything else.
Plus, I guess you're supposed to support Helen who's the victim here, but the book being from her POV, her psychiatrist POV, it was full of her boringly condescending and know-it-all tone, and there were times when I truly wondered whether I really wanted her to get away or not. And the parts from Kevin's journal were quite the same, full of himself and stuffs. So yeah, very annoying to read.
And to achieve this mediocrity, the ending is merely unfinished business. It was kind of "let's wrap it up and be done with it" and a bit too easy after everything that happened... Or maybe it's because I got sick of this book halfway and decided to finish it anyway that the ending seemed so bad. I don't know, I don't care.
February 21, 2015
A remarkable debut novel. Anne McLean Matthews should be very proud.
I read this book in one day and I think that is the way it should be done. A widowed psychologist needs to get away from her prestigious job in the city so takes a sojourn to a cabin her family visited 12 years previously. What she doesn't know is that a serial killer is stalking her and the story quickly evolves into a cat and mouse game between the victim and her protagonist.
It was a hard book to put down and equally suspenseful as the heroine, Dr Helen Myrer, forces herself to stifle the human fears and analyze the next move of her assailant.
If you want a thriller, try this one out.
I read this book in one day and I think that is the way it should be done. A widowed psychologist needs to get away from her prestigious job in the city so takes a sojourn to a cabin her family visited 12 years previously. What she doesn't know is that a serial killer is stalking her and the story quickly evolves into a cat and mouse game between the victim and her protagonist.
It was a hard book to put down and equally suspenseful as the heroine, Dr Helen Myrer, forces herself to stifle the human fears and analyze the next move of her assailant.
If you want a thriller, try this one out.
November 30, 2015
How can I even describe this book? Intense, suspenseful, thrilling (in a thoroughly unpleasant way),
the ultimate serial killer story - and yet a story of the amazing human mind when facing the unimagineable. I guess this is a horror story, but there is so much more to it that just naming it a certain genre. I can't believe this is a debut novel. It is so well written, so believable in an
mind-bending sort of way, and is almost impossible to quit reading. It's definitely a 4.5 - 4.75
stars novel.
the ultimate serial killer story - and yet a story of the amazing human mind when facing the unimagineable. I guess this is a horror story, but there is so much more to it that just naming it a certain genre. I can't believe this is a debut novel. It is so well written, so believable in an
mind-bending sort of way, and is almost impossible to quit reading. It's definitely a 4.5 - 4.75
stars novel.
August 24, 2013
I have reccomended this book to all my friends who like "scary books" and horror. It's dark, disturbing, and a bit terrifying. The author's writing pulls the reader in, making you feel as though you're right there in the story yourself. One friend told me she wanted to yell and kill "that sicko" (bad guy) herself. It's disturbing; you won't forget this story I promise. I only wish the author had written more books.
July 6, 2008
This one got me through a night of insomnia...I read it in a few hours. It was quite a page turner, but not for all (typical serial killer reasons). Also, don't be mislead by title - the characters don't get to the cave in question until page 200!
January 26, 2016
This really is one of those books that scares the crap out of you to read. I have never forgotten the title, only the author and thats always easy to find after a min. I rememeber holding my breaths in part whee the charcacter couldn't breath. Stimulating read AND wonferful one at that.
June 17, 2012
I could NOT put this book down. The suspense in this book was exquisite, and the twists and turns were unexpected. I was very disappointed to learn that this author has not written any more books. If you love horror, psychological suspense, and a little gore, this is the one for you.
February 1, 2022
This is one of the most psychologically creepy/scary books I've ever read... and I've read literally hundreds of scary books! I definitely wouldn't have wanted to read this when I was home alone or in an isolated location by myself.
September 27, 2010
This was the book that made me swear off horror novels forever. It's been 13 years, and I still can't forget it. Really, really gross and deeply disturbing.
June 29, 2016
I loved this book. It kept you on the edge of your right up until the last page.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews