Review: Surpassed my expectations.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 9, 2014
I was delighted to receive a review copy of this story because I have long been a fan of this particular writer and I thoroughly enjoyed the first story in the same series. I've waited impatiently since last summer for Mantequero 2, but the wait was well worth it. This author never disappoints.Back in England, the school term has started but without June. No one seems to know anything about her non-appearance, and nor does anyone particularly care, except for her young colleague, Alison, who decides to make it her mission to discover what happened to June. In a thrillingly sinister way, I began to feel Alison's interest in June affected her deeply - so deeply that she seemed to begin to take over June's life.This meant taking on June's delightful cat, Jessica and tracking down her young niece, Patsy. Eventually, with the help of Heather, a fat estate agent (warning bells, here, as we know the mantequero thrives on fat) Alison arrives in the small Andalusian village in which June had spent her last days.To tell you any more would spoil it for you. You'll just have to read it for yourself.I admire Ms Twist's writing immensely and especially enjoy her descriptions of Spanish country living about which she seems to know so much and write about with passion. There is a real empathy for the simple village folk and their ways and I always become totally immersed in the lifestyles described. It's impossible not to warm to Alison and Heather and hope for a better outcome than the previous heroine.An engrossing read. Although a short story, it's satisfyingly longer than the first Mantequero, but even so, it was over all too soon for me and left me wanting more. But who knows, the clues are in the story...there could well be a Mantequero 3 hitting our shelves later in the year. Fingers crossed!