” The Ruins ” by Scott Smith is a horror novel originally published in the mid 2000’s .

A group of Americans on vacation in Mexico meet up with a group of Greek and a German tourist. The German’s brother has met a girl who is investigating some Mayan ruins and he left a map for his brother to be able to get to them. The Americans are looking for a little adventure and they like the German guy so they ask to join him in his search for his brother. When they arrive at the Ruins things take a turn for the worst. Mayan villagers surround them and force them to stay on the hill the ruins are laid upon. Why are the villagers threatening to kill them? What happened to the German’s brother? Will these tourists survive what lurks upon the Ruins?

Let me open up with this , the novel is brutal . Even a jaded horror reader like myself cringed at some of the scenes in this story . Hats off to the writer for his ability to paint painful pictures . It comes off like a survival story with a side of horror . Filled with tension, mystery , and a brutal edge , this is a definite buy for horror fans .