Quoted as "the best psychological thriller writer around" by The Times, Jeffery Deaver shows his strength as a magnificent author of unprecedented status. This is currently my favourite book of all time. This is an amazing book showing off Deaver's skill for multiple false ending, and is a great thriller. It accounts a man known in the cyber world as Phate. He is the best hacker the world has ever seen, and has created a programme that allows him to seize root in anyone's computer, without them knowing, looking, but leaving nothing behind. He takes people identities, and is one of the greatest in social engineering. He can take any information about you and destroy your life. This is the monster the Police Computer Crimes Unit is trying to tag. Phates character is written with the greatest of care, and is one of the best written characters I have witnessed in a book. The CCU decide to call in one time partner of Phate, Wyatt Gillette, imprisoned because of a charge against him for breaking the standard 12 security system. He was a great hacker, but decided not to follow Phates path, instead getting married and planning children. This is the best thrill ride out there. The problems faced by every member of the CCU crew, whom you feel connected to due to the great writing, are amazingly written. You can feel the pain the characters feel as they are yet again lead astray by this mysterious Phate. The motto is that one day, computers will be yet another tool in the murder of human beings, and this emotion and epic dialogue is outstanding. I will be watching out for the forthcoming film, and another novel Jeffery decides to bring out.
The sick minded murder has been taken over by his computer, and the desire to go online. He bases all his kills on a game called Access, where on an anniversary of a famous person, the game coordinators selected a killer, who had to try and kill anyone they could. Stabbing someone in the heart was known as the greatest form of access.

This is yet another book for the Wirral Paperback of the Year. This is an excellent read, for young adults and adults alike. Excellently written, the emotion is captured well, as well as the gripping storyline and thrilling plot. The plot is as follows. *SPOILERS* A young boy, Kyle is having problems at home. His mother has left him and his dad is under the thought that his mum will return. Kyle unsuspectingly takes a train with his school on a trip. This is a dreadful mistake and causes pain and frightening nightmares. The train crashes. As he wanders around, the only one conscious, he realises he can travel into the minds of his friends, and discover their greatest nightmares and secrets. These nightmares are well crafted short stories on their own, as so when you put them together you get an amazing mix of science fiction, horror and adventure.
These stories include quite strange and distressing scary theories if you like, which may scare younger readers. I recommend this for teenagers, who know how to respond to scenes presented within the pages of this book. This however is still one of the best stories out there, and also doubles as a great short story collection that adults as well as teens will thoroughly enjoy.

This is a nail-biting novel by Irish writer Siobhan Dowd, and follows Shell, a girl left to look after her two younger siblings, as her mother died, and her father is constantly drunk. The characters are beautifully written, and the style of suspense and mystery writing is excellent. Set in 1984, in Ireland, where gossip and rumors are rife, Shell takes care of her two siblings while the father is away, collecting for charity, from which he skims money for drink. All these events are caused by her mother's death, which led to her father's depression, and all the weights dropped on her young shoulders. Shell sometimes hears her mothers voice, and describes it as 'a swift pure cry'. The townsfolk also compare Shell's beauty to her mothers, and this attracts the attention of one Declan Ronan, who gets her pregnant. This event sparks off the more memorable passages in the book, with Shell having the baby, trying to hide it, burying it, getting arrested, and charged with murder. A very emotional story, the characters are easy to relate to, making for an incredibly controlled, but original story, portrayed by an excellent writer. Many messages are put across, more notably, wealth and poverty, innocent and criminal, and sexuality. This is a very intriguing book, and as a mystery, also does well. I recommend this to teens, as there are some extracts unsuitable for children. The cover is inviting, and also serious. The book was shortlisted for 2007 Carnegie Medal. Beautiful story.

Here Lies Arthur is yet another take on the Arthur legend. But this one is good. The settings, emotions and characters are portrayed beautifully, by on of my favourite authors. Philip has written the amazing Mortal Engines quartet, and other astounding novels. This book, though, is very much an interesting remake of the classic tale. The Lady of the lake for example, is not a fair magical maiden, but Gwyn, a lonely girl taken in by the story-teller Myrddin. And those who love the traditional Arthur will be in for a shock. This story's Gwenivere, Gwenhwyfar, falls in love with not Arthur, but Bedwyr, a handsome knight. Arthur finds out, and like his nickname, the Bear, depicts, he kills him in a frenzied mass of sword strokes. He is not the handsome loyal king the stories make out, but a frightened man, with a heavy sword and tales at his side. Myrddin wants Arthur to be great, and so goes around telling others of his great deeds and battles. These are the stories we read of today, not the truth... Excellent writing, this book compels you to read on, a real page-turner. The characters are written well, though the names can be a bit confusing, (though a pronunciation not is added at the back), and the descriptive passages are some of the best. The cover is a black and white image that wasn't that inviting, but don't let that put you off. I would recommend this to mature, capable teens. Though only 290 pages long, the size of them makes up for it. A good read to get stuck into. Thanks for amazing books, Philip!

This is the book written By Cliff McNish, an author we met at the Wirral Paperback meeting. Others who have read it thought it confusing at times, not knowing whether you were reading as the ghosts or as the main character. I partially agree with this. At the beginning, it was a tad confusing, but as you delved more into the story and brilliant plot, this problem faded away. The main character is Jack, a teen with a good relationship with his mother and a harsh asthmatic condition. They move house, into an old building, where Jack realises he can sense ghosts floating around. Soon the ghost children, Ann, Oliver, Charlie and Gweneth, pluck up the courage to speak to him and he soon realises that they are no threat at all, and the real danger lies with the Ghost Mother. A compelling and original ghost story that chilled me to the bone, the horrors displayed are not horrors as in some dreadful films these days, but a horror that makes you feel strongly for the characters. The Ghost Mother needs the souls of the children to survive, and so sucks it out of them in a kiss. Amazingly well thought out and with an astounding plot, this makes for a nail-biting and riveting read, and I recommend this book to all horror lovers. Best suited for teens, I think the lack of blood and gore that some will expect is a plus for the story overall. I also think the cover is well designed, with a cold and exciting picture. Well done Cliff!

This book is quite hard to understand, but when you get the gist of it, it becomes clear and the exceptional writing come through. The main characters are three ordinary teenagers, Smokey, Bryan and Jake, whose lives have been terrorized by fear of the Dark Man. A pleasing mix of horror and detective work, this book should be read by teenagers and adults, as I consider it a bit too complicated and scary for younger children. Bryan's brother Adam, was taken by the Dark Man ten years ago, when he walked down the Devil's footsteps and sang the haunting children's rhyme. Bryan ran, and has been running ever since, but when he teams up with Smokey and Jake, he realises that he has to face his fears and walk the feared stepping stones. This simple task tests all the teenagers mental and physical strengths, pushing them to their limits. The characters are easy to relate to, and their emotions are shown vividly, and the writing pulls you into the heart of the story. With a slogan such as: Thirteen steps to the Dark Man's door, won't be turning back no more, this plot is sure to frighten young children. During the story, lots of children have disappeared, with Jake and Smokey wanting their own mysteries solved. I think that the plot could be told better and in a way that more people could understand it easily. Other than that, great originality and writing in an exciting novel that shows horror in a whole new light.