Shock Waves - Hardcover

Grade 9-12-- Set in contemporary England, Shock Waves combines romance and the supernatural. The plot centers around Leigh, an 18-year-old art student at a local technical college. Unlike her two best friends, she has no boyfriend and often feels lonely and unhappy. Then two important events occur. Two young female students are found dead, possibly murdered. Even more chilling is the fact that their bodies appear old, as if the life were drained out of them. Second, Leigh receives an invitation to join a dating club. At her friends' urging, she accepts and subsequently meets Stephen, the man of her dreams. Solid characterizations and an evenly paced plot will keep readers turning the pages. Suspense builds steadily and, even though a few developments are predictable, the climax has an unexpected twist. Fans of Annette Klause's The Silver Kiss (Delacorte, 1990) are sure to appreciate this thriller. --Marilyn Makowski, Greenwood High School, SC
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A killer is on the loose in Bournemouth, England. Leigh, an art student at the Technical College, is in love with a wonderful young man. Are the killer and the new boyfriend the same man? Can she escape the fate of two other students, found with "the life drawn out of them?" Considerable suspense builds around these two questions, as Leigh finds herself pulled into an exciting but perilous relationship. Westwood explores the danger of getting what we want, as he did (with more originality) in He Came from the Shadows. Here romantic love with the perfect man is literally all-consuming; he turns out to be a vampire who loves his victim but inevitably drains her of her life force. Effective horror--Anne Rice for teenage girls--but not particularly memorable. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.