Welcome to Litsy!

The third book sees Harry, Hermione, & Ron about to start their third year at Hogwarts. On the way there they encounter Professor Lupin, their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, when a Dementor, one of the feared guardians of Azkaban searches the train. Harry seems to be the worst affected of anyone. It seems that a prisoner named Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban & is after Harry to take his revenge for what happened to (continued)

Sophia Galich was twelve when she starred in her older sister Layla‘s amateur horror movie 'Vermillion' filmed in the house their parents were renovating. Originally owned by a rich couple who held wild parties & seances until the tragic death of the wife, it stood empty for years before the Galich family moved in to renovate it. The movie gained a cult following online alongside a website which people use to travel 'The Path'. (continued)

I wasn't expecting a lot but this turned out to be a nice little read. It's got a former psychiatric hospital converted into student accommodation as a base, alongside spooky goings-on (night trips into the old part of the building which still retain the cells & operating theatre of the old place, disappearing emails, automatic writing, the MC having visions of the Warden of the asylum, etc). (Continued)

A collection of 20 strange but true crimes ranging from the late 1800s to the modern day. Some of them were downright bizarre whilst others were grisly to say the least. The chapters are short & to the point, detailed without being ghoulish. At the end, the author muses as to why true crime is such a popular genre & argues that it is a way for us to safely confront our fears of death which does makes sense. (Continued)

Inspired by the popularity of the genre & endless fascination that people seem to have with true crime, & the emotional manipulation of people behind the scenes to create drama & make people want to tune in. The narrative takes the form of transcripts of interviews with those involved in the case for a book about the TV show, & these are cut into short paragraphs from multiple points of view per chapter. (Continued)

In this retelling Lydia is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter (three older sisters having died as children) & therefore a witch, whilst Kitty is revealed to be her feline familiar bewitched to appear human in front of others. Lydia's quest to improve & use her magic leads her into all kinds of mischief & dangerous situations. (Continued)

I'm not a big fan of this book, I'll say that from the off. It's an odd mix of very slow plodding family history & frenetic breakneck violence - most of it perpetrated by a demonic little puppet called Pupkin. I've never been a big fan of puppets or those creepy lifelike dolls, especially ones that look like clowns. The two main characters, brother & sister, Mark & Louise were not particularly likeable either. (Continued)