Monster by C. J. Skuse

The Blurb On The Back:

There are things out there, real things that we need to worry about.

There are your beasts.

There are your monsters.

At sixteen Nash thought the biggest fight she’d face would be the battle to become Head Girl of prestigious boarding school Bathory.

Until her brother’s disappearance leads to Nash being trapped at the school over Christmas with Bathory’s assorted misfits.

As a blizzard rages outside, strange things are afoot in the school’s dark, dangerous hallways. And the girls will have to stick together if they hope to survive.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

C. J. Skuse’s stand-alone YA novel is a rope-taut thriller with supernatural elements that keeps you turning the pages. Although Skuse uses the typical school stereotypes (the mean girl, the bad girl, the weird girl) she elevates them with pitch-perfect dialogue and deft characterisation. This is particularly true of Maggie – the bad girl who pulls pranks because she’s desperate to be expelled but who can never seem to be wicked enough – but also Regan, the weird girl who believes in the legend of the Beast of Bathory (a mythical animal that hunts in the fields and villages around the school). Nash herself has a lot of depth – not truly good or truly bad, she is troubled and stressed as she goes through serious disappointment, first love and ultimately terror. Added to this the plot itself twists and turns so that you’re never really sure who the killer is until the final unmasking, which keeps the tension at a high level – especially as it’s coupled with Nash’s internal worries about her brother. I was a little disappointed with the killer’s motivation and wanted more from the supernatural element but these are small complaints as I enjoyed this book and will read Skuse’s other work.

The End by Charlie Higson

The Blurb On The Back:

Keep moving. Keep fighting. Stay alive.

The sickness struck everyone over fourteen.

First it twisted their minds.

Then it twisted their bodies.

Now they roam the streets – crazed and hungry.

Sickos swam the streets of London. Gathered in the centre of the city, they lie in wait.

The survivors have one final epic battle to overcome. Together they must work out a plan of attack and stop the grown-ups reign of terror before it’s too late.

The end is coming.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The last in Charlie Higson’s YA horror ENEMY SERIES is a fitting conclusion packed with action, violence and heart-breaking character deaths. One of the things I’ve loved about this series is how Higson examines different ways of governing and grouping together – Matt’s religious cult, David’s monarchy, Jordan’s military set-up, Nicola’s parliament and Justin’s academy of boffins – and I thought the way he shows the petty arguments and personal agendas at play between them was credible. As has been the case throughout the series, there are a lot of character deaths, some of which were unexpected (with one in particular making me quite upset) and others that have been set up over the last few books but which were nonetheless handled effectively. Higson handles the set-piece battles well, conveying the chaos and violence but leaving a clear sense of what exactly is happening (which is helped by the inclusion of a map). I particularly enjoyed finding out what’s happened to both Paul since leaving the Natural History Museum and Matt since the attack on St Paul’s and it was good to see Jordan and the Tower of London crew again but I really would have liked more Ed, especially given the events in THE HUNTED. I was also a little disappointed by the portrayal of Einstein who’s looking for a cure – the unfeeling nerd cliché is overdone and I wanted something more. That said, Higson never forgets how young his characters are and I love the moments where they realise and accept that there are some things they can’t do. Also worth a mention is the useful timeline at the end of the book that shows how the events in each book in the series fits in with each other. Ultimately, this book ties up the loose ends well and serves as a fitting conclusion to an entertaining series.

Asking For It by Louise O’Neill

The Blurb On The Back:

”They’re good boys really. This all just got out of hand.”

It’s the beginning of the summer, and Emma O’Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy and confident.

One night, there’s a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma.

The next day, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She doesn’t know how she got there.

She doesn’t know why she’s in pain.

But everyone else does. Photographs taken at the party show – in great detail – exactly what happened to Emma that night.

But sometimes people don’t want to believe what’s right in front of them, especially If the truth concerns the town’s heroes …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Louise O’Neill’s emotionally devastating and highly topical YA novel is a horrifying update of THE ACCUSED for the social media age. Bitchy, vicious and jealous, Emma has a complicated relationship with her friends – Jamie, Ali and Maggie – and key to the novel is her relationship with Jamie who has been through similar trauma, which Emma knows about but has no sympathy for. Emma is therefore not a character to easily sympathise with and her reputation for promiscuity and flirting make the residents of the small Irish town where she lives all too willing to believe the worst of her. Further complicating the case is the fact that the boys involved are local sporting heroes, set for the big time – this compounds Emma’s crime because in making what many believe to be a false accusation, she is seen to be unjustly ruining their futures. The double standards are breath-taking and all too relevant, as is the hate campaign and media furore that blows up around it. O’Neill does well at showing Emma’s turmoil and inner conflict as she tries to come to terms with an act she can’t even bring herself to name. This was easily the best YA book I’ve read in 2015 and one that should be required reading on every school’s curriculum – I will definitely check out O’Neill’s other work.

ASKING FOR IT was released in the United Kingdom on 3rd September 2015. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

Jonathan Dark Or The Evidence Of Ghosts by A. K. Benedict

The Blurb On The Back:

A mystery as dark and twisty as the Thames …

Maria King knows a secret London. Born blind, she knows the city by sound and touch and smell. But surgery restored her sight – only for her to find she doesn’t want it.

Jonathan Dark sees the shadowy side of the city. A DI with the Metropolitan Police, he is haunted by his failure to save a woman from the hands of a stalker.

Now it seems the killer has set his sights on Maria, and is leaving her messages in the most gruesome of ways.

Tracing the source of these messages leads Maria and Jonathan to a London they never knew. To find the truth they’ll have to listen to the whispers on the streets.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

A. K. Benedict’s novel is a curious mix of crime and fantasy that mostly hangs together well, in spite of a very busy plot. Dark himself is an interesting (if at times mopey) protagonist – I believed him as a man unable to let go of his shallow wife, and whose obsession with her mirrors that of the stalker’s obsession with Maria – and I also believed in the more supernatural revelations about him. Where it fell down was with one particularly personal revelation, which came out of nowhere for me and didn’t really add much to my understanding of him. In contrast I found Maria more annoying – while Benedict does her best to explain why she is unable to embrace sight, I still found it a difficult concept to buy into, not least because of the lack of any public reaction to her blindfold (but that probably says more about me than the character). The best scenes are those recounted by the stalker and I would have liked more from their point of view, if only to flesh out the motivation and how they commit their crimes. A sub-plot involving a criminal fraternity has a lot of potential despite straining credibility at times, but for me the best part was the way Benedict handles the supernatural elements, constructing a ghost-locked London that feels very believable. I really wanted more of it, not least because of the detection implications. There is definite series potential for this book (which I would continue with), and despite the flaws, Benedict’s fluid writing style kept me turning the pages and I will check out her other books.

JONATHAN DARK OR THE EVIDENCE OF GHOSTS will be released in the United Kingdom on 25th February 2016. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC copy of this book.

Master List of Books 2015

1. A Conspiracy Of Alchemists by Liesel Schwarz.

2. Replica by Jack Heath.

3. Blue Fire by Janice Hardy.

4. Ibarajo Road by Harry Allen.

5. You by Caroline Kepnes.

6. Skulduggery Pleasant – Last Stand Of Dead Men by Derek Landy.

7. Skulduggery Pleasant: The Dying Of The Light by Derek Landy.

8. The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney.

9. A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre.

10. The Bat by Jo Nesbo.

11. Rush Of Blood by Mark Billingham.

12. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson.

13. Firefight by Brandon Sanderson.

14. Dreams Of Gods And Monsters by Laini Taylor.

15. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore.

16. NOS4R2 by Joe Hill.

17. The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett.

18. OxCrimes edited by Mark Ellingham and Peter Florence.

19. Dream-Songs: A Retrospective Book 1 by George R. R. Martin.

20. Vowed by Liz de Jager.

21. I’m Travelling Alone by Samuel Bjork.

22. The Rest Of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness.

23. Shanghai Sparrow by Gaie Sebold.

24. Season To Taste by Natalie Young.

25. Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens.

26. Arsenic For Tea by Robin Stevens.

27. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.

28. The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury.

29. Under Ground by S. L. Grey.

30. Remix by Non Pratt.

31. A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab.

32. Foreign Gods, Inc by Okey Ndibe.

33. Mind Games by Teri Terry.

34. MI6 – Life And Death In The British Secret Service by Gordon Corera.

35. A Death In The Family by Caroline Dunford.

36. Nobody Saw No One by Steve Tasane.

37. Sea Djinn by Linda Davies.

38. Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman.

39. First Class Murder by Robin Stevens.

40. Say Her Name by James Dawson.

41. The Bonehill Curse by John Mayhew.

42. Any Other Name by Emma Newman.

43. All Is Fair by Emma Newman.

44. As Red As Blood by Salla Simukka.

45. Blue Chip Kids by David W. Bianchi.

46. The Bones Beneath by Mark Billingham.

47. Veiled by Benedict Jacka.

48. The House Of Shattered Wings by Aliette De Bodard.

49. The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher.

50. The Survivor by Sean Slater.

51. Halting State by Charles Stross.

52. Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch.

53. 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough.

54. Haterz by James Goss.

55. Career Of Evil by Robert Galbraith.

56. Monster by C. J. Skuse.

57. The End by Charlie Higson.

58. Asking For It by Louise O’Neill.

59. Jonathan Dark Or The Evidence Of Ghosts by A. K. Benedict.