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 pre-pubescent celebration turns into a night of horror as their blood brother oath unleashes a three-hundred year curse.
Twenty-one years later, Fox O'Dell and his friends have seen their town plagued by a week of unexplainable evil events two more times - every seven years. With the clock winding down on the third set of seven years, someone else has taken an interest in the town's folklore. A boutique manager from New York, Layla Darnell was drawn to Hawkins Hollow for reasons she can't explain - but the recent attacks on her life make it clear that it is personal. And though Fox tries to keep his professional distance, his interests in Layla have become personal too.
still a little ho-hum when you know what she can do
The 2nd book in the Sign of Seven Trilogy continues where the 1st (Blood Brothers) left off. Again I really like the characters - Fox & Layla are my favourite couple in this series. Fox's family is also pretty special. You've got to love the leftover hippy family with the "opposites attract" parents, prickle farm setup & a bunch of extremely varied grown up children. The dialog & relationships all work well & are paced & structured better. Unfortunately this book has some of the same weaknesses as the first book in that it's formulaic and can be disjointed, although not to the same degree. This book is better than the first. Although it's not her best effort I'd still say that if you like Nora, read the series anyway. It's still better than a lot of the real crap that's out there. 1st book is Blood Brothers. 3rd book is The Pagan Stone.
Natalie, 12/12/2008