Chicken House ISBN 9781911490906 £6.99
Emily’s fairly normal life in London suddenly takes on an unexpected and scary change when she discovers that her parents are not quite what she thought. They are part of an alternative London, a London frozen in time at midnight and peopled by a never-ending cast of monsters. First her mum, then her dad, go missing and Emily finds herself transported to the world of these Night Folk in her attempt to find them. Here she meets the living dead, a marauding shape-changing bear, a vampire, and a myriad of creatures that defy interpretation, most of them up to no good. But Emily is more than up to her situation, being as feisty as it gets, with a no-no nonsense 21st century attitude, tinged with a liberal dose of humour.
We follow Emily’s adventures until she succeeds in her quest and normality – of a sort- is restored. But probably temporarily as an endnote leaves us anticipating the promised sequels as this is the first of the now standard trilogy.
A fast moving, page turning story, this is an exciting but sometimes challenging read.
Pam Dowson