Herbert Lieberman

For an unsuspecting group of friends, a hike through the forest turns into a desperate fight for survival

Mr. Rogers is the ideal guide for a few neighbors looking to survey a large, wooded piece of property: He remembers every tree, stream, and bush; when there’s a fork in the road, he knows which way to go. But the surveying trip goes horribly wrong when Rogers suffers a debilitating heart attack and the group is left wandering lost through the woods, with Rogers a murmuring shadow of his former self.

Almost immediately, tensions that have existed among the friends since childhood begin to flare up. The forest grows darker and more threatening. Leadership claims are staked and rescinded. Fears start to overwhelm rational decision-making. Then Rogers starts spouting instructions in what sounds like a mystic cipher.

The Eighth Square is a rollicking psychological thriller that deftly demonstrates how thin the barrier between man and animal truly is.