Review: nicely atmospheric
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 8, 2011
I was expecting a typical teen horror story, but was pleasantly surprised. The book is set in a British boarding school, so many of the characters are teens. But many others are adults, including the main character Zuleika. Most of the characters were well-developed and enjoyable to get to know. The setting, an old Abbey converted to a manor house and then a school, was almost a character in itself. The architectural descriptions made me wish for illustrations.Ms. Edmondson's plot starts off quickly with the discovery of an old book of spells, then a Venetian violin. The horror builds slowly as we progress through the school year and through the staging of "A Midsummer's Night Dream". And then suddenly, it's over. I was expecting much more of a grand finale. In fact, the ending is my only complaint about the book. Dare I hope there will be further adventures for Zuleika and company? I was definitely left wanting more.I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.