Under the Beetle's Cellar

by Mary Willis Walker

Book Overview

Kidnapped by a cult of religious fanatics, an Austin school bus driver and eleven of his young charges are being held below ground in the cult's highly fortified compund, and federal investigators are... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553571737
• Release Date: June 1996
• Publisher: Crimeline
• Length: 339 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.8" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Could not put it down!!

This books amazing. The plot was original and the characters engrossing.Molly Cates is back on the scene when her connection with Samuel Mordecai, a fanatical cult leader, becomes known. Molly, a reporter in Texas, wrote about Mordecai for her piece on religious cults. Now Mordecai has kidnapped a school bus with children, and the bus driver, and is holding them hostage on his compound. This book should be read by all mystery and thriller fans. Mary Willis Walker has no parallel when it comes to involved plots that could become convoluted and ridiculous in less capable hands. She tells the story of a boy turned cult leader who was terribly abused as a child, but never uses that fact to excuse his behavior, rather to understand how a boy emotionally and physically abadoned comes to such a horrific and devastating point. The scences between the bus driver and the school children are some of the best in fiction. You feel their terror and resentment of Mordecai and cheer when they outwit him.A great read!

Logical, coherent and thrilling

Anna Fields does an amazing job of reading the unabridged version of this Texas-based thriller. Actually, I suspect a born storyteller. The cast of characters is a most unlikely arrangement - our "Lone Star Monthly" reporter, involved with policeman ex-husband, a pyscho dog, a double amputee Veteran, an artist/poet/busdriver, a David Koresh style fundamentalist lunatic, a nun turned assassin, a homeless alcoholic, pregnant sorority girl, a requiste number of men in suits and some incredibly strong children -- somehow it works. The school bus is highjacked, and the clock is ticking. Suspenseful and very believable, full of Austin area landmarks, thoughtful commentary on religion (IMPORTANT, if true), and a bit of middle aged romance, this especially clever novel will not disappoint. I will definitely hunt down the other books written by this author. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.Note: I really did not care for the name of the book, which surprisingly evolves from an Emily Dickinson poem - it seemed trite or silly until I got into the story.

Engrossing and scary.

Mesmerizing thriller about a crazy cult leader and his followers who kidnap a bus driver and 11 of his young passengers (all under the age of 11) and bury them underground in a school bus for 50 days. The story has two setttings -- the outside world, featuring a reporter who is trying to find out as much as possible about the cult leader's past so she can figure out a way to convince him to let the children go -- and the world inside the bus, where the bus driver, a Vietnam vet with no experience with children, overcomes his own fear to try to keep the kids calm and safe. He starts telling them a story in installments, one chapter a day, and also begins working on a way to barracade themselves in the bus in preparation for the day he knows is coming, the day the cult leader will try to sacrifice them all. Something about these kids and that bus driver's story (about a turkey vulture named Jacksonville) really drew me in. This is probably the first time a stock thriller has ever reduced me to tears by the end (of course, I did have a fever of 102 at the time). Highly recommended!

Not Your Average Thriller

Under the Beetle's Cellar could have been so run of the mill but with Mary Willis Walker behind the wheel (no pun intended) it was eerie. She was really able to write from the mind set of someone in a cult. Walker writes of a fanatical cult leader so real that it could have been a story ripped from the headlines of any paper in the USA. Molly Cates is back and better than ever.Hopefully, Walker will write another one soon!

Best book I've read since High School!

I loved this one! The level of suspense is thrilling. I never wanted to put it down & promptly purchased all the other books by this author! It seemed so real, like it came straight from the news!