The 100 Society - Carla Spradbery


I am not normally a thriller reader but the blurb of The 100 Society immediately caught my attention. A group of six friends aged seventeen to eighteen at a boarding school challenge themselves to graffiti-tag one hundred locations around their city. They then receive a series of threats and their “game” rapidly evolves into a terrifying psychological thriller.

As I am not a fan of graffiti, I was pleasantly surprised that the graffiti element isn’t actually that prominent. It’s more an exploration of art generally and what someone’s art tells you about them. All the gang are keen artists within the law as well as outside of it and I found it intriguing working out what clues to their character were hidden in their school art pieces.

I also like that the story is set in a boarding school, partly because I like boarding school stories and partly because it made their wild antics more convincing than had they been under the supervision of their parents. I found the story completely believable; even, sadly, the very unpleasant parts.

Upon discovering that there are six main characters, I was apprehensive as I feared that the characters may not be developed enough. I certainly didn’t feel Ed was as three-dimensional as he could have been. However, the other five gang members were clearly portrayed and, most importantly, I was able to empathise with Grace, the main protagonist; I was desperate for her to “survive the countdown.”

The element of mystery in the story was a triumph. Often when reading mysteries I guess the outcome very early on but this book kept me guessing. The ending was pretty satisfactory in that a lot of loose ends were tied up. However, I would have liked to have heard more about the motivations of the culprit. Saying “they’re a psychopath” seems like an easy way out; no-one acts the way that person did without something big having happened in their past and what happened to this person wasn’t explained.

The book was really enjoyable and has inspired me to read more thrillers. I liked the setting, characters and the fact that I didn’t know what was happening until the very end. The pacing was good and nothing felt like filler material. Overall, a great reading experience and I would certainly recommend this book to young adults. It was a very promising debut!


*This review was originally written for Cuckoo Review (New Writing North) and is reprinted with permission*

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