Try Not to Die: At Meadow Spire Mall

An Interactive Adventure

De: P.W. Feutz

Narrado por: Andrea Emmes

Valentine’s Day. 1998. One mall. No escape.

Quinn Carpenter thought heartbreak was the worst thing that could happen to her. Humiliated in front of her entire high school, she’s ready to disappear forever. But her best friend Kirsten has other ideas—dragging Quinn to the buzzing Meadowspire Mall for a little retail therapy and revenge.

But there's something far worse than teenage drama waiting beneath the surface.

A violent February storm has trapped them inside. The lights flicker. The crowd thins. And something ancient, hidden deep beneath the mall for decades, is ready to rise again.

Will Quinn survive the horrors of Meadowspire Mall—or become just another Valentine’s Day tragedy?

This audiobook includes two terrifying formats:

Interactive Edition: YOU control the story. Make Quinn’s decisions and face the deadly consequences. With over two dozen brutal deaths and only one true path to survival, every choice could be your last.

Survivor Edition: Prefer to sit back and listen? This version follows the one true path to survival—no decisions required.

Perfect for fans of Goosebumps®, Stranger Things, and Choose Your Own Adventure®, this heart-pounding horror is loaded with friendship, fear, and deadly twists.

Press play—if you dare.

©2024 P.W. Feutz (P)2025 P.W. Feutz

Thrilling

Try Not to Die: At Meadow Spire Mall by P. W. Feutz is an amazing thriller. Andrea Emmes did an amazing job with the narration. The story is interesting, entertaining, thrilling, suspenseful, dramatic, exciting, action packed, horrifying, and more. If you like goosebumps, or other stories like that you will like this. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I really like these books!

The try not to die books are alot of fun. P.W.Feutz created good characters and Mark Tullius does interesting and unpredictable death scenes. He's certainly not predictable. I don't want to give away spoilers but it's a good book.

‘90s Teen Drama and Terrifying Thrills!

Try Not to Die at Meadow Spire Mall is a fast-paced, interactive locked-room horror novel perfect for fans of escape room adventures, ’90s nostalgia, and classic mall culture. While parts of the story read as Young Adult—especially the teenage drama between the protagonists—the horror itself quickly escalates into terrifying scenarios that will appeal to adult readers as well.

The story steps readers into the shoes of Quinn Carpenter, a teenage girl whose Valentine’s Day goes from humiliating to horrifying when she and her best friend Kirsten head to Meadow Spire Mall to blow off steam. A sudden winter storm traps them inside just as the mall begins to feel wrong—stores stand empty, lights flicker, ominous steam rises, and dangerous shadows start surfacing from beneath the building itself. As subterranean monsters emerge and panic spreads, the reader—as Quinn—must make risky decisions about which direction to take, how to navigate increasingly hostile friendships, and how to survive relentless attacks coming from every angle.

In the physical book—or the audiobook’s interactive mode—readers navigate 53 chapters, each ending with branching choices that directly impact the outcome. A wrong decision leads to a sudden (and often gory) death, while correct choices push the reader—as Quinn—closer to finding others trapped in the mall who may be able to work together to escape. If you’re wondering how hard it could possibly be to get out of a mall with so many exits, the terrifying events that unfold quickly put those doubts to rest, making you question whether escape is even possible. There is only one true path that leads to survival, but no matter which route you choose, the narrative remains fast-paced and packed with juicy teenage angst, high-stakes decisions, and nonstop tension!

Quinn Carpenter is a highly expressive and emotional protagonist, and her inner monologues can be very melodramatic—especially when reflecting on the humiliating incident at school the day before, which clearly still weighs heavily on her. Her dynamic with her fiery best friend, Kirsten, is an emotional roller coaster as they navigate pent-up resentment, mistrust, impulsive behavior, jealousy, teen angst, and fierce loyalty—all within the span of a single day. This relationship anchors much of the story’s emotional core, and as the narrative unfolds, Quinn grows from an insecure teen into someone who faces her fears (and monsters) head-on, including standing up to Kirsten.

The story has a large supporting cast, from Prairie and Reina—who meet up with the girls early on and display remarkable bravery—to groups of older teens the characters are forced to work with in order to survive. The dialogue is often dramatic and intense, fully reminiscent of a ’90s teen drama, but it’s balanced by quieter, heartfelt moments where Quinn opens up and allows herself to be vulnerable. As the group bands together, every successful monster takedown and every narrow escape into safety feel more immersive, making readers care about characters’ outcomes.

The pacing begins as a slow burn, with the opening chapters grounding readers in Quinn’s world—her lingering humiliation from the day before, her emotional withdrawal, and her reluctance to go to the mall or talk about what happened. Once Kirsten launches into her prank-filled escapade, much to the other girls’ dismay, the teenage drama ramps up and nearly reaches a boiling point, which may leave some readers wondering when the suspense will kick in. Fret not—just as it feels like the teen drama is about to take over, the real story ignites with sudden screams, violent shaking throughout the building, and ominous steam rising from below. From that moment on, the tension escalates rapidly. The storm worsens, hidden threats reveal themselves, and the edge-of-your-seat adrenaline rush begins—remaining relentless all the way to the end. After enduring intense battles, dead ends, and (likely) multiple deaths, the conclusion feels less like a typical ending and more like a hard-earned victory!

NARRATOR PERFORMANCE (5⭐️):
The audiobook Try Not to Die at Meadow Spire Mall is narrated by award-winning audiobook narrator Andrea Emmes.

Emmes brings the large cast of characters and the locked-in 1990s mall setting vividly to life with a wide emotional and vocal range. For protagonist Quinn, she blends melodrama, introspection, and fierce determination to capture a teen who’s humiliated, angst-filled, and suddenly thrown into a terrifying situation while dealing with teenage drama. Her portrayal of Quinn’s best friend, Kirsten, is a stark contrast—infused with a fiery, impulsive energy that makes the character deliberately unlikable and borderline obnoxious. Emmes’s character voices for the supporting cast, including Reina and Prairie (the girls who navigate the nightmare alongside Quinn), as well as the male characters who team up with her to fight off the monsters, are clear, distinct, and animated, adding both excitement and unnerving tension to the listening experience!

The pacing of Emmes’s narration is one of the audiobook’s strengths. The story has a slow-burn start, heavy on teenage drama before any thrills begin, but Emmes’s highly entertaining and dynamic delivery—especially during the melodramatic dialogue exchanges between Quinn and Kirsten—keeps listeners engaged, even those who don’t typically gravitate toward YA drama. As the story progresses, the pacing of the narration perfectly mirrors the story’s shifts: steady and measured during the character-driven opening, then sharp, urgent, and tension-filled as the horror rapidly escalates. Through shifts in tone and emotional intensity, Emmes also effectively conveys Quinn’s growth from an insecure teen into someone who confronts emotional turmoil and monstrous threats head-on!

Interesting way to read

This was my first ‘choose your ending’ and I died a lot lol fun way to pass the time. I received a free copy and left my honest review

Dim Mall Adventure

Vague horrors with a lot of drama and banter; more an adventure than a scare. I found it's text to be too chatty with long flashbacks to stuff like a prank and the social ripples of that when there are potentially more interesting horrors that end up sidelined. The scares here feel scattered, lacking a lot of continuity (on one hand anything could happen on the other it's maybe too tame). There are hints of nostalgia here often name dropping mall giants of old but it doesnt feel very evocative of a time past (or even modern malling) and I thought fell a little flat. The mall and threat here don't offer a lot of variety so it feels a bit samey. It's written in a human focused style; sort of like 'friend a did this, friend b did that, there was a something in the shadow; which friend do I prefer... but then came a scream from Suncoast and we found evidence of monsters so should we go upstairs or downstairs (repeat).' Surviving choices are a bloated 20-30 minutes long between the next option and it doesnt feel like the plot advances too much (is my friend here or should I access an area). The narrator has a female vibe that fits the girl crew here but her voice feels too nasaly and monotone for my taste. There are 53 total chapters here each representing an option of 2-3 branching choices. It picks up more at the end.