Welcome to Litsy!

I first read this about 10 years ago so thought it was time for a re-read. I'm not as easily impressed as I was back then, so I'd probably rate this at a 3.5🌟 now. There's not much backstory given (there is a reason for that that the reader finds out later) & it makes the narrative a bit disorientating as the reader works out what is happening. The twist is still good though.

2015 review: A promising start to what looks to be a good YA series.

Hannah has some misgivings as she leaves for a luxury weekend away with her husband, her brother Mako & his wife, & best friend Cricket & new squeeze. As the six friends arrive, the weather changes & the group are stuck in the isolated cabin. Furthermore there's something a bit off with their rental owner & the house has a tragic backstory. As the weather cools outside, inside tempers heat up, & it seems someone has a deadly agenda. (continued)

Following the loss of a lucrative contract due to internal rivalries, a group of seven feuding office workers are sent on a team-building weekend by their boss. On the way there the private plane develops engine trouble & the group wake up marooned on a deserted tropical island. There the rivalries become magnified as the group struggle to locate water, food, & shelter plus look for a way off the island.
(Continued)

A book of 13 haunting stories which all involve fishing of some description. Now I'm not the least bit interested in fishing but I do like a book which deals with hauntings & water. These were mostly a mixed bag, with the one about a Victorian serial killer, & another about a group of friends out fishing in a boat with a broken radio being the standouts for me. (Continued)

Bianca wakes up in hospital & is confused as to how she got there. She is told that she was babysitting, someone broke in & killed the maid, Mrs Ingersoll, & tried to kidnap baby Katie. Bianca grabbed Katie & ran to get help but can't remember any of this. Now she is terrified of the dark but when her memory starts to return, the killer is worried that Bianca will be able to identify them & decides to shut her up for good. (Continued)

An in-depth look at the roles women played in the British Intelligence services in both World Wars. Far from being confined to being secretaries or typists, sometimes these roles concealed jobs working in decoding, setting up & running spy networks in Europe, & even being parachuted into occupied territory to work undercover. These women were hardworking, courageous, intelligent women who put their lives on the line for the Allies. (continued)

A group of friends from university days are invited to a Christmas Masquerade murder mystery break at a remote hunting lodge. At the last one, the 'victim' disappeared from a locked room & was never seen again. This time it is based around the song 'Twelve Days of Christmas', i.e. Lord Leapworth. As the game begins, past secrets are revealed & friendships are strained until on Christmas morning, Lady Partridge is found hanging from a pear tree.

The third book sees Harry, Hermione, & Ron about to start their third year at Hogwarts. On the way there they encounter Professor Lupin, their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, when a Dementor, one of the feared guardians of Azkaban searches the train. Harry seems to be the worst affected of anyone. It seems that a prisoner named Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban & is after Harry to take his revenge for what happened to (continued)

Sophia Galich was twelve when she starred in her older sister Layla‘s amateur horror movie 'Vermillion' filmed in the house their parents were renovating. Originally owned by a rich couple who held wild parties & seances until the tragic death of the wife, it stood empty for years before the Galich family moved in to renovate it. The movie gained a cult following online alongside a website which people use to travel 'The Path'. (continued)

The Brontes & werewolves - even before starting it, I knew this would be either a triumph or a disaster. It's definitely going to polarise opinion as it's a required taste, but I loved it. I particularly like the way that the author wove actual events into the supernatural narrative, such as when Branwell paints over himself in the portrait of himself & his three sisters. (continued)