I absolutely love books with unique settings so when I came across this series I was completely psyched! This first book is set in Aokigahara and it's about a group of ESL teachers living in Japan that want to climb Mt. Fugi before they leave. On the day of their trip though, the weather takes a turn for the worse and their climb gets delayed. So in order to kill time, they decide it would be fun to camp for a night in Aokigahara, then hopefully climb Mt. Fugi the next day. Once they get in the forest though, a number of things start happening and their "fun" camping trip turns into their worst nightmare. 

I can honestly say that I never want to visit Aokigahara after reading this book but I had tons of fun reading about their trip! LoL It was creepy and intense and Bates kept me in suspense the whole time. I thought the horror element was nicely done too. It wasn't too over-the-top which I really liked and thought lent the story some added realism. 

The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars was because there were a few minor plot holes here and there that probably could have better fleshed out. For example:

None of those things distracted from my enjoyment of the story though. It was tremendously good and I highly recommend to anyone looking for a thrill! As soon as I finished reading it, I vowed to read every other book in the series and I immediately bought the second book Catacombs online. I can't wait to start reading it and see what awaits me in Paris. : )

*I read this book for my 2016 Halloween Book Bingo: ~Grave or Graveyard~ square