Review: One of few authors whose books I read as soon as I get them
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 31, 2013
I've been following this series since discovering it a few years ago (when I bought it thinking it was a variant of Alice in Wonderland, and found something remarkably different instead). I have since been pleased to be among the first to read the last three books after their publication. Nicola found her stride as an author with the second book, Mind Magician, with each book growing in interest and quality, and this one is the best at all. The plotting is tight, the characters are well-defined, and the dialogue is sharp and engaging. I particularly enjoy Nicola's ability to move each adventure to a new setting and use the particulars of that place to craft a new and different sort of tale. In this case, the setting is London, and famous places in that great city provide a backdrop for Alice's adventures. Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, and the London Eye all provide context for adventure and peril.Alice Parker's combination of spunk, growing power, and genuine goodness and innocence make her a heroine of whom I will not soon become tired. Among the supporting cast, her brother Thomas and the loathsome Mind Magician Hugh Rowbottom are standouts, as well as a number of new villains. We also finally learn more about Alice's parents, who each figure in key scenes. (Mrs. Parker, by the way, is an undertaker. I really like that.) But there is still no sign of a boyfriend for Alice. Maybe in book five?All in all, five stars. This is one of a few authors whose books I read as soon as I get them, and I'm very curious to see what is next from the fertile imagination of Nicola Palmer.