Wednesday 27 October 2010

URBAN FANTASY REVIEW: The Bride that Time Forgot - Paul Magrs

Release Date: 28/10/10

BOOK BLURB:

An outrageous adventure with the most terrifying villain Brenda has ever faced - her best friend, Effie.

Something is biting people on the streets of Whitby. In an ordinary town, this would be worrying. Here, it’s disastrous, and only Brenda has guessed why. She’s also trying to prepare for a packed festive break at her B&B, but her best friend Effie is in distracted mood: she just hasn’t been the same since her suave gentleman friend Alucard reappeared.

Meanwhile, Penny has joined a book group in the new mystery bookstore, the Spooky Finger. As she is drawn into the strange and fantastic works of Edwardian lady novelist Beatrice Mapp, she makes some very surprising discoveries. Discoveries that will soon impact upon the lives of all the ladies of Whitby. When unexpected help from the shadows of the past arrives to illuminate the dangers awaiting them all, Brenda realises that unless she can find a way to save Effie, the consequences may be eternal.


REVIEW:

Whatever you say about Paul Magrs, whether you are a fan or not, you know that he can weave a story very well. Whilst I’m not going to find this title in my top ten Urban Fantasy books of the year, I can still admire the way that he weaves his threads in this long established series.

What Paul also does well, is his characters, they’re fully rounded and whilst a bit beyond the norm, they are people that you would love to hang around and do want life to work out for them. Back all of this up with a sparse descriptive style as well as acceptable dialogue and it allows the tale to wend its own merry way.

One word of warning however, is that whilst you can jump in on this series here, you won’t get the full flavour of the characters and will be short changed by not having started at the beginning where a lot of hard work done to establish the cast alongside his interpretation of their world. All in a reasonable offering and one that will keep established fans of Effie and Brenda happy, even with a few heart stopping moments within.

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