by Richard Gleaves

Having enjoyed the first two books of this series, I really did have to finish the trilogy. Oddly, it seems to have become tradition for me to read one of the books each Halloween! Very fitting for the theme of the story.

This one opens with what I could see had to be a nightmare sequence, but how much of it was dream and how much reflection on the real situation? That isn't given away right away.

The second book had left the situation in a mess and I have to admit, I couldn't imagine how the author was going to untangle it all. However, slowly, one strand at a time, the various convoluted happenings took form in the early chapters until it all began to make sense.

Several chapters in the middle were devoted to giving back story on Agathe. While I found these slow reading, the information did help see where her character was coming from. There is a lot of artistic license taken on the original Headless Horseman tale, but that's to be expected.

I had mixed feelings about the book as a whole. Sometimes I was caught up in the action and other times I felt it went too far afield of believability, considering I was reading a ghost story! The one thing that really took me out of the story was an inaccurate use of tarot cards, changed to fit the story. I figure if an author is going to use something like that as a device, they should read at least one book on the meanings and use them as they are supposed to be! Otherwise they could invent their own divination system, like the cards used in the Thieves World series.

The other thing that didn't work was inconsistency in the villain's behavior. Once incident in particular at the lighthouse was completely out of character and struck me as a lazy way to get out of a tight situation. Also the townspeople don't react much to widespread murder and with enough shooting incidents in the U.S. to show how people really react in recent history, it just felt neglected.

Mostly the ending resolved things, though a bit at the very end felt insufficiently related and just thrown in as a jumping off point for another series within the same world. I'm done though. The supernatural world built through this series didn't quite work for me, although I did enjoy Jason's story for the most part.

by Richard Gleaves

I really enjoyed this story. Apparently there is to be a series and I'm almost tempted to continue it.

The writing was generally good. The author uses 'would' and 'had' too much, but otherwise it's rather good. It's definitely strong on distinctive characters and I found I rather liked Jason. His quirky grandmother reminded me of Maude out of the '70s movie Harold and Maude.

The story itself is about a teenager who has to grow up too fast because his parents are dead and his grandmother at eighty doesn't have much time left to care for him. She moves them to Sleepy Hollow without warning Jason and he learns that he's part of the local legend as the last surviving relative of Icabod Crane. Descendants of other characters from the Washington Irving story make appearances too.

This was especially enjoyable because I had read the original story so recently and almost spooky as some names from The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne also appear and I was reading this book concurrently! There is witchcraft and ghosts involved and the spooky element steadily increases through the story. It had everything the original didn't! Including a breathtaking finish that had me glued to the pages.

Unfortunately although it did finish, it didn't really end. It wasn't left on a cliffhanger, but too many elements were left unresolved for the next book in the series to take up. I hate that. It loses a star for that and whether I read further in the series will be down to my whims.

However, I did really enjoy it and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the book.

by Richard Gleaves

I read the first book of this series last year and the first couple of chapters did a good job of bringing back all the references and continuing characters, enough to make me want to kill one of them, but he was mean to the dog.

In some places this one felt a little slower than the first book, but there was fast action in others. Also I find it a little difficult to identify with teenage characters in general. It basically continues the story where it left off, with Jason trying to protect his inheritance from his crooked guardian and to stay alive through all the ghostly happenings.

Jason is a likeable character and this story was significantly heavier on supernatural happenings than the first one. Despite some slow bits at the beginning and in the middle where some back story gets revealed, there was never any question that I would finish it. There was more of magic and 'gifts' in this one as well as a more prevalent presence of the Horseman and other ghosts.

The faster bits were an exciting ride and I enjoyed watching the characters develop further. There was almost exhausting fast action towards the end, but then it stopped with too many strands left unresolved so that you have to get the third book to see how it all turns out. For that, it loses a star. Otherwise it was a great read and I'm glad I've already got the third book so I don't have to decide whether to resist because of my anti-cliffhanger stance.

Hmmmm, I may have to switch this book for another. I had it earmarked for the Baker Street Irregulars square which is described as:

"mystery that involves children/teens in crime solving"

I think age-wise I'm okay, as the protagonists are all about 18 and thus still teens, but these books aren't exactly mysteries/crime solving. They're more horror.

I may just let this one go, and do a reread of Crooked House or something.

ETA: Yep...that's what I'm going to do, I believe. I'll save this one for another time.

Book change! No longer using this book for Halloween Bingo! It didn't correctly fir the square I chose it for. This is a KU borrow, so I'm going to try to knock it out first as my KU subscription runs out at the end of the month.