In the small village of Hawkins Hollow, three best friends who share the same birthday sneak off into the woods for a sleepover the evening before turning 10. But a night of celebration turns into a night of horror as their blood brother oath unleashes a three-hundred-year-old curse. Twenty-one years later, Cal Hawkins and his friends have seen their town plagued by a week of unexplainable evil events two more times - every seven years. Quinn is a well known investigative journalist, and despite Cal's protests, she insists on delving into the mystery. But when the first signs of evil appear months early, it's not only the town Cal has to protect, but also his heart.
a bit ho-hum by her standards
I'm a Nora Roberts fan. I'll buy & read anything of hers because when she hits she really hits & she has way more hits than misses. She's got a gift for characters & a knack for telling a story. Unfortunately this book - 1st of the Sign of Seven Trilogy - is a bit of a potboiler, as is the series generally. It's not terrible but it's not her best. The characters are good & strong as usual - I really like the people who populate this series. The dialogue works. The story idea is interesting, especially if you like the supernatural. This series is supernatural with a horror twist. (Warning: if you don't enjoy the supernatural in stories you probably won't finish this book.) I found it a bit too formulaic, disjointed at times & the presentation of the romance between Caleb & Quinn way out of kilter. They spent 90% of the book getting to know each other & then - WHAM BAM - overnight they're getting married. It just didn't ring right. If you like Nora, read the series anyway. It's still better than a lot of the real crap that's out there. 2nd book is The Hollow. 3rd book is The Pagan Stone.
Natalie, 12/12/2008
