Twisted riddles and a terrible curse
Jessica's life has suddenly spiralled out of control. She has been uprooted from her city home and left to settle in the middle of a remote island off the coast of the United Kingdom. This doesn't happen to many 14-year-olds and Jessica cannot believe it has happened to her. Things were going wrong at home, and something had to be done, but not this!
Jess had got in with the wrong crowd at school and her mum had got herself involved in a messy extra-marital affair. Jessica's dad had been at the end of his patience with both women in his life, but fate had unexpectedly intervened and solved the problem.
One of Mum's relatives died and left her a house on a remote island called Lume. Here was the chance for the family to sort itself out.
Mysterious things start to happen soon after Jess's arrival on the island. One day, as she is complaining about her new life to her best friend online, a third person interrupts the conversation. Jess is aware of this newcomer, but her friend is not.
This is the beginning of a chilling series of events that threatens to sacrifice Jess and her family to the forces of evil that hang over the island. Jess soon becomes aware that her mother has been selected as the victim of an age-old curse that has the islanders in its grip.
There is a terrible evil in Lume's history and this evil needs innocent victims to nourish it. Jess's mother is the latest in a line of people who the islanders set up as a sacrifice to their past.
Unable to ignore the darkness building up around her, Jessica must act quickly. She is recruited by a ghostly presence called Epsilon to rescue her mother. Jess has to solve a series of twisted puzzles, riddles and codes to get to the forces of good that will save her family and the whole island from destruction.
Christine Morton-Shaw's The Riddles Of Epsilon is a chilling supernatural thriller that keeps you on your toes from page one. It is all here; the battle between the forces of darkness and light, vengeful spirits, claustrophobic escapes through caves, shadowy doorless towers and a teenager looking for the power to save her world.
We've had this mixture before in many similar novels, but seldom has the finished product been as skilfully constructed and effective.
Jessica's quest through the clues is full of suspense, but the novel really hits the mark when she comes face to face with the evil powers themselves.
This is shiver-inducing writing at its most effective. Morton-Shaw's clever mix of puzzles and shocks works well and the conclusion of the novel packs a shivery emotional punch. The Riddles Of Epsilon is a story with a powerful hook that will grip readers of all ages.
The Riddles Of Epsilon
By Christine Morton-Shaw
Published by HarperCollins
ISBN 0 00 719982 1
