Review: An entertaining novel
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 8, 2013
Hand Me Down Evil, by Allison James, starts off with a bang. The reader is thrown into Celia's life and learns that her mother disappeared a year ago and that her younger sister, Amber, keeps seeing an "imaginary" woman. Celia and her Aunt Phyllis are taking care of Celia's sisters and making ends meet is difficult. Then Phyllis and Amber drive off in their car to run an errand before dinner and Tally, Celia's other sister, confesses she also sees the woman that Amber claims to see. Not only that, Tally tells Celia that this mystery woman is now following Amber and Phyllis. Moments later there's an explosion. Celia rushes to the accident to discover that Amber has disappeared. Celia's experience with the police when her mom vanished wasn't good and she doesn't think they'll do their job this time around either. She, with the help of a classmate, begins her own investigation. What they find is alarming, terrifying, and good fun for the reader.I could not put the novel down until I read the last page. This is an entertaining novel and a satisfactory start to a series. While much of the background information is explained briefly, James did lay enough foundation for the next book. As stated previously, if a reader can get lost in the story and not question the simplicity of the plot then it will be an enjoyable read. And I would like to see how the author rises to the challenge of furthering the series and adding more layers of complexity to her writing.