The Cellar

The Cellar is dark, even for Minette Walters, and unlike most of her books, there's no happy ending. We see the events unfold through the eyes of Muna, a girl taken from an orphanage and hidden from view by an African immigrant family in England.  When their younger son goes missing, they realize they can't hid Muna any longer and pretend she's their mentally disabled daughter and not their slave. Muna is actually much brighter, and much more calculating, than anyone in her family, and even better than her "mother" at developing cover stories for the neighbors.  More of a thriller than a mystery, The Cellar left me with mixed feelings.  It's even creepier than it's dark, and while I admired Walters' writing, I was a bit to unsettled to actually enjoy reading the book.