Under the Beetle's Cellar

The author and heroine of The Red  Scream return in a novel so terrifying, so  filled with squirming suspense, it's bound for the  bestseller lists. When Kirkus  Reviews greeted Mary Willis Walker's last book,  The Red Scream, with "welcome  to the big time," they weren't kidding. That  novel established Walker as an author with  "the kind of clout that sets publishers' mouths  watering" (The Philadelphia  Inquirer). And now she has done it again, with an  unforgettable tale ripped from the headlines and  more terrifying than our worst nightmares. Kidnapped  by a cult of religious fanatics, an Austin school  bus driver and eleven of his young charges have  been held underground at the group's highly  fortified compound for forty-six days. While a team of  federal negotiators begins to lose all hope of  rescuing the hostages, crime reporter Molly Cates sets  outto discover everything she can about the cult's  iron-willed leader, Samuel Mordecai. And as  the clock ticks inexorably, she takes the role of  Clarisse Starling opposite Mordecai's Hannibal Lecter,  engaging in a psychological confrontation as  harrowing as any in The Silence Of  The Lambs. Tough, terrifying, and relentlessly  heart-wrenching, this is a novel whose images no reader will  ever forget.From the Paperback edition.

From AudioFile

This psychological thriller will chill the listener to the bone. A group of fanatical, right-wing religious extremists kidnaps 11 children and their bus driver. Reporter Molly Cates races against time to find and rescue them. Judith Ivey performs this story with an incredible number of voices and accents, each carefully crafted for the appropriate character. Samuel Mordecai, the fanatics' leader, is particular strident. Ivey captures the New York City and Hispanic accents as easily as the Southern Texas twangs. Music dramatizes the performance and the horror of the situation. The story line is disturbing, but the performance is worthy of the best suspense novel. M.B.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Walker, whose The Red Scream won the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of 1994, returns with a knockout novel that may send her back for another bow in '95. This time, Texas journalist Molly Cates is drawn into a headline-grabbing multiple kidnapping: religious fanatic and self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Mordecai has abducted 11 Austin elementary schoolchildren and their bus driver. The children and the driver, Walter Demming, are being held in another bus buried beneath a barn on the heavily protected compound of the Hearth ("earth with an h, which stands for heaven," says Mordecai) Nazarenes until the end of the world?a mere 50 days away, according to Mordecai's prophecy. Joining the action on day 45, Walker moves her story both forward and back, holding her readers with two narrative threads: one traces Demming's and the children's dark endurance under the earth; the other moves with Molly as she delves into Mordecai's past to help the feds and the cops (the latter of whom include her former husband, who is also her current lover) understand Mordecai's intentions. Readers quickly become attached to the private, utterly believable Demming, a Vietnam vet, and to the brave, alternately defeated and defiant, youngsters, one of whom suffers from severe asthma. Above ground, Molly bends her own rules to uncover the circumstances of Mordecai's birth and childhood, which figure prominently in his religious fantasies. With unerring pacing and a vivid supporting cast (including a frustrated FBI negotiator and a cunning killer operative who is a former nun), Walker leads up to her superbly orchestrated final act, which will leave readers cheering, weeping and gasping for breath. Mystery Guild selection; paperback rights to Bantam; author tour. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

The author and heroine of The Red Scream return in a novel so terrifying, so filled with squirming suspense, it's bound for the bestseller lists. When Kirkus Reviews greeted Mary Willis Walker's last book, The Red Scream, with "welcome to the big time," they weren't kidding. That novel established Walker as an author with "the kind of clout that sets publishers' mouths watering" (The Philadelphia Inquirer). And now she has done it again, with an unforgettable tale ripped from the headlines and more terrifying than our worst nightmares. Kidnapped by a cult of religious fanatics, an Austin school bus driver and eleven of his young charges have been held underground at the group's highly fortified compound for forty-six days. While a team of federal negotiators begins to lose all hope of rescuing the hostages, crime reporter Molly Cates sets outto discover everything she can about the cult's iron-willed leader, Samuel Mordecai. And as the clock ticks inexorably, she takes the role of Clarisse Starling opposite Mordecai's Hannibal Lecter, engaging in a psychological confrontation as harrowing as any in The Silence Of The Lambs. Tough, terrifying, and relentlessly heart-wrenching, this is a novel whose images no reader will ever forget.From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Walker's Red Scream not only garnered raves from critics and readers, it also won the 1994 Edgar Award. Just a year after this hard-to-top performance, Walker has produced another dynamite thriller. Intrepid, wisecracking crime reporter Molly Cates is back, this time confronting wacko cult leader Samuel Mordecai, whose Austin, Texas, compound is just as bound-for-tragedy as David Koresh's. Mordecai believes the end of the world is imminent, and according to a divine vision he's received, he must sacrifice a group of purified "lambs of God" who'll serve as his ticket into Heaven. To that end, he's kidnapped a school bus driver and 11 children and kept them hostage in a buried bus for 46 days. The hostage negotiators can't make headway, and they're terrified of another disaster of Waco proportions. Enter Molly, who interviewed Mordecai months earlier and is the only person he will trust. The story moves from the gut-wrenching tension inside the hostage bus to the frustrated negotiators to Molly, who's racing against time to psych Mordecai out and rescue the children before their captor begins his final sacrifice. Walker is a master at building suspense to a well-nigh unbearable level, and her spellbinding plot, outstanding writing, and one-of-a-kind characters will keep readers mesmerized until the shocking climax. A must-have! Emily Melton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

One would think that Walker's The Red Scream (Doubleday, 1994), which won an Edgar Award, would be a tough act to follow. The intrepid author, however, exhibits no signs of sophomore jinx in this spectacular sequel featuring Texas journalist Molly Cates. Samuel Mordecai, a fanatical, self-proclaimed prophet, kidnaps a busload of schoolchildren and their driver, a detached Vietnam veteran, and holds them beneath a heavily armed compound. While Cates delves into Mordecai's bizarre past and federal authorities attempt to negotiate with him, it becomes clear that the hostages are doomed. The final 30 minutes of Under the Beetle's Cellar are almost painfully suspenseful, and listeners will surely draw parallels with the horrifying incidents in Waco, TX, involving David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. Judith Ivey reads well, and the hokey music is used sparingly. The abridgment is adequate, but listeners may find the nonstop action a bit disconcerting. All in all, this is a good addition to the suspense collections of libraries that can't wait for an unabridged edition.?Mark Annichiarico, "Library Journal"Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

The author and heroine of The Red Scream return in a novel so terrifying, so filled with squirming suspense, it's bound for the bestseller lists. When Kirkus Reviews greeted Mary Willis Walker's last book, The Red Scream, with "welcome to the big time," they weren't kidding. That novel established Walker as an author with "the kind of clout that sets publishers' mouths watering" (The Philadelphia Inquirer ). And now she has done it again, with an unforgettable tale ripped from the headlines and more terrifying than our worst nightmares. Kidnapped by a cult of religious fanatics, an Austin school bus driver and eleven of his young charges have been held underground at the group's highly fortified compound for forty-six days. While a team of federal negotiators begins to lose all hope of rescuing the hostages, crime reporter Molly Cates sets out to discover everything she can about the cult's iron-willed leader, Samuel Mordecai. And as the clock ticks inexorably, she takes the role of Clarisse Starling opposite Mordecai's Hannibal Lecter, engaging in a psychological confrontation as harrowing as any in The Silence Of The Lambs. Tough, terrifying, and relentlessly heart-wrenching, this is a novel whose images no reader will ever forget. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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