The bus-driver, Walter Demming, turns out to be the hero of this story. He and 11 children are kidnapped and kept under ground for 50 days. Their kidnapper, Samuel Mordecai is the leader of a cult and believes that the children and Walter will be purified by staying under ground for 50 days. After 50 days, Mordecai plans to kill them for his church.This is the basic background of the story and I'm not giving away any details by telling you this. Walter Demming wanted to be a nobody and on nobody's radar. But stuck with the kids for 50 days underground has turned him into a fearless leader for the children. He trains them on blocking the doorway so no one can get in - for when the FBI breaks them out. He tells the children to not clear the blockage until he says it is OK or if the FBI show up. They train on this maneuver until they can do it in the dark without thinking. He also tells a story to the kids on a daily basis that keeps them focused and interested in the story rather than on their fears of being kidnapped.Molly Cates is the intrepid reporter who had interviewed Samuel Mordecai a few years previously. She becomes an expert on Mordecai that the FBI soon learn to rely on. This book takes place during the last few days before Mordecai plans to kill the kids and the bus-driver and it is a race for Molly and the FBI to save them.This book was an easy read - no thinking required! And it moved very quickly - and definitely kept you reading. If it were a book that made you think, I would have given it a higher rating. If you are looking for a book that you can just plow into and enjoy the ride - then I'd give it 5 stars.
So, I'm not entirely sure if this book deserves the five star rating I'm giving it, because I read it back when I was in high school, something like fourteen years ago, and I'm not sure if my high school self can be trusted to accurately remember how good the book was. HOWEVER, I've remembered how much I enjoyed this book for all these years, so it clearly made quite an impression on me. It's the story of a war vet turned school bus driver who is kidnapped with his entire busload full of kids by a cult leader. He and the kids are imprisoned inside the bus, and the story of their daily lives as prisoners unfolds in a thoroughly thoughtful and riveting way. Very fascinating and suspenseful. Apparently this book is one in a series of books about the adventures of a crime reporter named Molly Cates and I can't exactly recall how she becomes involved in the story, I remember her being a pretty fascinating and cool character as well. I'll have to re-read and see if the five star rating holds up!
Fantastic if you only ever read one book then this is it !!!!!!!!Eleven Texan schoolchildren and their bus driver are captured by a fundamentalist cult, taken to a fortified compound and buried underground, kept alive but only just. Negotiations lead nowhere. Enter Molly Cates, tenacious crime writer with the inside track on the cult leader. But time is running out…Claustrophobic terror alternates with frenzied investigations as the sect’s deadline approaches. this book had me holding my breath crying gasping and celebrating all in one sitting
—Jo
wow i forgot this existed then saw it on here. i bought this in an airport going on a family summer vacation when i was about 15 and only had 8 seconds to find a book on the stand and this one had a bright cover so i grabbed it. i met a cute british boy named dave on that trip--he wrote his address in the inside cover. oh, the book: i think some schoolkids became hostages underground or something but even with that set-up i think it was still pretty tame. but what did i expect? once dave even called...long distance. so there's that.
—Jodi Lu
UNDER THE BEETLE'S CELLAR - ExWalker, Mary Willis - 2nd in Mollie Cates seriesEleven Texan schoolchildren and their bus driver are captured by a fundamentalist cult, taken to a fortified compound and buried underground, kept alive but only just. Negotiations lead nowhere. Enter Molly Cates, tenacious crime writer with the inside track on the cult leader. But time is running out... Claustrophobic terror alternates with frenzied investigations as the sect's deadline approaches. Post-Waco, post-Oklahoma, the nature of cults is explored to its grim, unrelenting limits in this terrifically paced novel of suspense. 1996 Top Read - This was a "WOW!" read. I was so impressed and found myself so into the story, one scene affected my physically. Great writing!!
—LJ
