MARY: The Summoning (Bloody Mary #1)
Expected publication: September 2nd 2014 by Disney-Hyperion
There is a right way and a wrong way to summon her.
Jess had done the research. Success requires precision: a dark room, a mirror, a candle, salt, and four teenage girls. Each of them–Jess, Shauna, Kitty, and Anna–must link hands, follow the rules . . . and never let go.
A thrilling fear spins around the room the first time Jess calls her name: “Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. BLOODY MARY.” A ripple of terror follows when a shadowy silhouette emerges through the fog, a specter trapped behind the mirror.
Once is not enough, though–at least not for Jess. Mary is called again. And again. But when their summoning circle is broken, Bloody Mary slips through the glass with a taste for revenge on her lips. As the girls struggle to escape Mary’s wrath, loyalties are questioned, friendships are torn apart, and lives are forever altered.
A haunting trail of clues leads Shauna on a desperate search to uncover the legacy of Mary Worth. What she finds will change everything, but will it be enough to stop Mary–and Jess–before it’s too late?
As soon as I saw the cover for this book in the NetGalley library my interest was piqued. A YA book centering on Bloody Mary? What a bloody fantastic premise!
The synopsis sounded too good to be true, so I was setting myself up to be a bit disappointed.
Bloody Mary delivered no disappointments.
I was instantly hooked on this book. Often thinking to myself, how odd it is that we all know of Bloody Mary, but we don’t know the story surrounding her? I took it upon myself to ask my group of friends that pride on being informative of the curios and all that goes bump in the night. Four people had four different: a betrayed queen, a desperate mother, a teen suicide and a murdered child. The only consistency—Mary appears through a mirror.
With that being said, it was exciting to hear a new twist on this epic urban legend. This novel was extremely well-written, words powerful enough to create vivid imagery that genuinely shocks and spooks the reader.
The investigation and journey the girls find themselves on is reminiscent of an episode of Supernatural. Which by default makes this novel already fantastic.
Blood Mary, as seen on TV series Supernatural.
It is rare for a novel to genuinely scare me and leave me with a lasting impression of fear. I never reveal spoilers, so instead I will compare to a classic everyone is familiar with. Remember the woman in the bathtub in The Shining? Remember how disturbing that scene was? Bloody Mary is filled with disturbing scenes on par with King’s classic.
I look forward to reading the next entry in this promising series. A definite must read for all horror fans.
Thank you, NetGalley for the digital review copy.
Lisa Loves Words 