The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley

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Bloomsbury, 2010. ISBN 9781408800133.
(Age 14+) I found that The Dead of Winter was a good book as it kept me on the edge of my seat at all times, wondering what was going to happen next.
Michael's father didn't come home from the Afghanistan war, because he gave his life for Sir Stephen. Soon after, Michael's mum passes away as well and he is left with nowhere to go but to his strange and mysterious guardian, Sir Stephen. On the way there, Michael is woken up by the cry of a girl, but when they stop to see if he can find her, she is gone.
Over the next few days, everything begins to get weirder and weirder, there are noises and shadows and things broken. There are cries during the night, footsteps of someone running around and things just keep on getting more frightening for Michael. As things begin to fall into place, the mystery becomes more and more clear to Michael as to what's going on and what has happened in the past. As the book goes on, death is near for Michael, but all else fails and death is gone again. People die, lives are saved and all goes back to normal again, and Michael lives a normal life again.
I found it hard to understand some parts of this book, as it was a wee bit complicated for me, so I would recommend this book for roughly 14 and above as it is a mature read. (Anyone under 14 probably wouldn't understand a lot of it.)
The Dead of Winter was set in and near London in a palace/mansion.
It was a good read, with mystery, murder and horror in it, and a bit of action.
I found it an interesting book to read, as it taught me that it's not what the cover looks like, it's what the story is about, that's important. (It looks like a book mainly boys would like, but it is for boys and girls.)
Tayla Pollard, 13

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