Product Description

In an abandoned house in the Lake District, a cupboard door opens into a playroom. Buried in dust is a collection of children's books in which the names of characters have been savagely crossed out.

Here three children played a make believe game, sacrificing their dreams and wishes to make what they believed come true. But the game was never finished and in the woods behind the house something waits, hungry for the only food it knows.

Now a new family has come to the house. Soon they will discover themselves in the game. But they do not know the rules. And they are the pawns, not the players . . .

A story with the terror and suspense of The Blair Witch Project.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9905 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Synopsis
In an abandoned house in the Lake District, a cupboard door opens into a playroom. Buried in dust is a collection of children's books in which the names of characters have been savagely crossed out. Here three children played a make believe game, sacrificing their dreams and wishes to make what they believed come true. But the game was never finished and in the woods behind the house something waits, hungry for the only food it knows. Now a new family has come to the house. Soon they will discover themselves in the game. But they do not know the rules. And they are the pawns, not the players ...A story with the terror and suspense of The Blair Witch Project.

About the Author
The best-selling 'Hex' trilogy (published by Macmillan Children's Books)
The gripping 'Borderland' sequence - Borderland, Outland and Shadowland
And for younger readers - Super Zeroes and Super Zeroes on Planet X

Customer Reviews

A really poor offering
I bought this book expecting chilling moments in the family home out in the woods. Instead I found this to be similar to a B list 'horror' film. This is definately a bargain basement offering and lacks any chills or scary moments. I found this book predictable and too much of a struggle to read. I didn't care about any of the characters or the demonic dolls (which are not even scary at all) and just wanted it all to end. If you are looking for a horror book packed with chills and suspense do not buy this book!

Chilling Tale
Three children play a game, crossing out book characters names and making their dreams come true. But dreams can turn to nightmares, as the new family who move in discover. The new children find the books with the crossed out names, and decide to play the game. But they don't know the rules or what they are getting into until it's too late.
When Delilah the doll starts to move around on her own things start to get freakily terrifying. Then there's the mysterious guy who goes by the name of Fox, who is he and what does he want? This story has many twists and turns and will have your heart thumping as you turn the pages. A truly magnificent chilling read.

Excellent, Immersive Thriller
I picked this book up during a spare ten minutes in my lunch break and found it impossible to put down. At its heart the book is a horror story involving the four children of a tense and unhappy family who have been dragged away on a family holiday by their parents. The story is packed with ideas - some of them very clever solutions to the usual problems of the horror genre - and the various elements of the story all fit together beautifully.

Readers familiar with the author's earlier work may be reminded somewhat of Waking Dream. The vivid characters and subtle blending of fantasy and reality certainly have a similar feel. Waking Dream felt to me as though it ended with much of the potential of its setting unrealised. Bad Blood by contrast seems a more confident, polished work.