Monday, February 20, 2012

Step Aside Winchester Brothers, There's a New Guy in Town

For some reason I've been on a horror kick recently and have read some truly disturbing YA novels.  The most chilling read I've had lately is:
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has unusual skill.  Like his father before him, he kills the dead.

Since his father's death at the hands of a powerful spirit, Cas has taken up the family knife and carried on the tradition of ridding the world of malevolent ghosts.  Everything changes when Cas receives information about an unusual ghost, Anna Dressed in Blood, who has more kills to her name than any spirit Cas has come across.  Suddenly the past comes back to haunt Cas and he must rely on new friends if he plans to survive the fight with Anna.

Kendare Blake has created a world in which things that go bump in the night are very real and likely to kill you.  Cas is an interesting and wonderfully flawed hero, while Anna's character opens the story to new directions that the reader doesn't expect.  Secondary characters are just as important and well-developed and help bring Blake's world to life.  Anna Dressed in Blood perfectly balances horror, action and emotion to leave the reader anxiously waiting for the next volume.

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