Welcome to Camp Killer

This fast-moving summer camp thriller by Murphy (Signed Sealed Dead) opens with eight counselors and their supervisor sitting around a fire at Camp Miller in the north of England, enjoying their last night alone before the campers descend. One of the counselors, Fionn, starts spinning a ghost story about the origins of the purportedly haunted gothic mansion that looms on the edges of the camp. He claims it was built by spice merchant John Miller in the 1800s for his wife Dorothea. When Miller arrives home one day from a lengthy trip with a new lover and their newborn son, Dorothea murders them, sets the house on fire, and dies after jumping from the roof. Following the tale, counselors Holly and Greyson return to their cabin, where Greyson finds that someone has put snakes in his bed; once the campers arrive, counselor Rich nearly drowns. After several more accidents and the death of another counselor, the teens fear that the ghost of Dorothea is behind the disastrous events. Thin characterizations and plotting that relies on standard tropes culminate in a familiar-feeling adventure. Most characters are coded as white. Ages 13–up. (Jan.)