From Publishers Weekly
Again featuring journalist Molly Cates, Walker's latest suspense tale concerns a religious fanatic who abducts a busload of schoolchildren. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA?Trapped underground for a ritualistic 50 days of cleansing are a busload of 11 elementary-school students and their Vietnam-vet bus driver. Kidnapped by Samuel Mordecai, a religious fanatic, the group slowly realizes that without a rescue attempt by the FBI, their demise will mark the beginning of Mordecai's prophesied apocalypse. Because he once found amateur detective Molly Cone to be a fair journalist, he requests that she interview him again. A chilling portrait of the man and his followers is tempered by the honest, earnest work of the FBI as they attempt negotiation and finally rescue. Molly's tenacity in her investigation of Mordecai leaves not one wart uncovered, yet without the help of the bus driver's literary friends, no one would be able to decipher the clues the entombed captives have hidden in their allocated one-minute messages to family members. A book that is horrifying in its realistic portrayal of religious fanaticism, heartrending in its description of the children's ordeal, and thrilling when it records one man's bravery.?Pam Spencer, Fairfax County Public Schools, VACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


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.


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


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


Review
"You are not going to be able to put it down!"--The Washington Times

"The suspense is unrelenting!"--San Francisco Chronicle    


Review
"You are not going to be able to put it down!"--The Washington Times

"The suspense is unrelenting!"--San Francisco Chronicle    


Book Description
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 Publisher
"You are not going to be able to put it down!"--The Washington Times "The suspense is unrelenting!"--San Francisco Chronicle


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.

ANNOTATION

Journalist Molly Cates, heroine of the Edgar Award-winning The Red Scream, returns, and finds herself at the heart of a bitter standoff when a fanatical madman she's profiled in the past kidnaps a busload of hostages--promising to hold them until the time arrives for his apocalyptic revenge. As time slips away, Cates must confront him while the lives of 12 people hang in the balance.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Kidnapped by a cult of religious fanatics, an Austin school bus driver and eleven of his young charges have been held beneath the ground of 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 Clarice Starling opposite Mordecai's Lecter, engaging in a psychological confrontation every bit as harrowing as any in Silence of the Lambs.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Again featuring journalist Molly Cates, Walker's latest suspense tale concerns a religious fanatic who abducts a busload of schoolchildren. (June)

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"

AudioFile - Miriam B. Kahn

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￯﾿ﾽ 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. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile - Susan G. Baird