Music and strange happenings --
I enjoyed this atmospheric and well written novel. There are many interesting characters such as Zuleika herself, Wyndham Tilbury - an art expert, Sylvia - the charismatic actress suffering from Bell's palsy and currently teaching drama at the school, Sylvestra - a new pupil with her ever changing hair colour and her visions. Then there are the unpleasant ones - the cold and vaguely evil headmaster - Odo Fitzhoward, Arabella - the pupil who behaves like the devil incarnate, Jack Mallins - another unpleasant pupil. -- Damaskcat (Amazon UK)
I found this book enthralling. It starts slowly but the characters and the setting draw one in until one is completely caught up with the story.
The sense of place is extraordinary. The abbey, its surroundings and the moodiness of North Yorkshire weather are given powerful life. The characters are individual and quirky (although the wicked headmaster is a bit of a stereotype)and develop throughout the story. You don't feel you know all about them, you feel that you are getting to know them in fits and starts.The plot is complex and with more depth than many books in the Gothic genre. Legend, history, art, music and folk lore are all thrown into the pot and stirred. -- Mrs. K. A. P. Wright
I was expecting a typical teen horror story, but was pleasantly surprised. The book is set in a British boarding school, so many of the characters are teens. But many others are adults, including the main character Zuleika. Most of the characters were well-developed and enjoyable to get to know. The setting, an old Abbey converted to a manor house and then a school, was almost a character in itself. -- pat1360
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