Book review: The Gallows Curse by Andrew Hammond

Dangerous men are out hunting people in the streets of London, eyewitnesses tells unbelievable stories of 17th century highwaymen committing murder. The Police have no clues as to who the suspects are and it is time to call CRYPT. The Covert Response Youth Paranormal Team is a highly secret organization that works on cases where the paranormal just might be at work. Their best agent Jud Lester is on the case with newbie(or zombie as they call it in the CRYPT) Bex.

My thoughts:

I was a bit reluctant when I first started reading The Gallows Curse because the beginning of the story was so scary and contained some pretty gory murders. I'm not that big of a fan of blood, beetles and mess but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. When the story first started I was sitting outside my house enjoying a beautiful day in the sun, after mere minutes I was transported to the streets of London looking over my shoulder to see if the scary ghosts were after me. I took the book to bed with me that night and lay awake hearing the house creak and turning the light full on just so I could make sure no highwaymen could sneak up on me, not unnoticed anyway.

Jud Lester was a guy with issues and rightfully so, his past has colored his behavior and he struggles to keep his act together. When Bex entered the scene she was like a fresh of breath air and she might just be the partner Jud needs, they made a great team(not boyfriend/girlfriend but as investigators, might be something in the air though).

A word I have to mention in this review is MOTORBIKES, both of the main characters were very passionate about their bikes. Jud rode a Honda Fireblade and Bex, I believe, rode a Suzuki GSX. I have to admit it I had a period in my life which I LOVED and obsessed over bikes. I actually rode a bike from the age of 16-18(we don't get to take our drivers license until we're 18 here), a bike classified as a light motorbike, at least here in Norway; a 125ccm Honda Shadow from the age 16-18. So needless to say I could connect with Bexs' love of bikes. I always wanted a bike like the one Jud rode but mine looked very different.

To the left a black Fireblade(nice, right?!) like Jud rides in The Gallows Curse, to the right a Honda Shadow just like my own <3

I would recommend The Gallows Curse to boys and girls who likes to be scared and aren't afraid of a bit of gore ;)

Come back tomorrow to read my interview with Andrew Hammond.

Book trailer:

Cover:
Fitting for a agent ghost story and I'm pretty sure it will appeal to the boys(and girls).

My rating of this book:

- I look forward to more adventures with Jud and Bex!

Want a second opinion?
Serendipity Reviews

Published: September 2011
Publisher: Headline
Full disclosure: Review copy from publisher in exchange for honest review.

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.

6 comments:

serendipity_vivOctober 5, 2011 at 12:19 PM
I had to travel by tube the next day after reading it and I completely freaked out! What were you doing in London? I thought you lived abroad.
Mari - Escape In A BookOctober 5, 2011 at 6:38 PM
Wops.. my bad :S I think I forgot to proofread that section. Does this sound better? "When the story first started I was sitting outside my house enjoying a beautiful day in the sun, after mere minutes I was transported to the streets of London looking over my shoulder to see if the scary ghosts were after me."
Jan von HarzOctober 6, 2011 at 10:28 AM
Motorbikes huh? Love that you connected with that. I have never driven one and am a bit afraid of them too, but very cool that this was an aspect of the book you focused in on in your review. I love scary and Crypt sounds like it does that and then some. Also really love settings in London. Thanks for the awesome review.
BlodeueddOctober 6, 2011 at 10:28 AM
I do not do scary...well sort of scary but not scary like this. still great review :D
Mari - Escape In A BookOctober 7, 2011 at 9:28 AM
Jan:I haven't driven mine for a few years now but it is still in the family. I was a bit unsure if I should mention it but sharing something personal might be ok sometimes, right?

Blodeuedd:Thanks :) I usually don't do scary either but I've read a couple of scary books this year actually(scary for me at least).
Irene JenningsJune 7, 2014 at 8:00 AM
I expect that to many 13 year-old boys (and some girls) this book will make exciting (and nightmare-inducing) reading. It is altogether too patchy (and corny) though to recommend very widely outside that demographic.
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