To be fair, I should have realised this wasn’t my genre, and I should definitely have realised it was the second in a series. It can be read as a stand alone novel, since the bring-you-up-to-speed sections come quickly and are comprehensive. The problem was, I got the impression the adventures in the first novel were way better than the adventures in this one, and there would be no point reading them now as I’ve been filled in on what happened. This one delivered little in the way of excitement, with the possible exception of the typewriter confrontation scene, and nothing in the way of laughs. Again, the comparison with “the League of Gentlemen” on the back cover should have given me warning: I didn’t find that funny either.

I am sure there are readers out there – probably quite a lot of them – for whom this would be a great read. People who like a bit of gothic nastiness and humour that largely centres itself around eccentricity and people called Effie. To me it read like a children’s book and was just a bit daft. I have read many of the author’s articles on creative writing, all of which were brilliant, and had looked forward to reading some of his fiction. Perhaps I just picked the wrong one. ( )

Read this one a long time after reading the first book. Just about remembered what happened in the first one although this was useful in jogging my memory. This was an enjoyable read - a little bit of silliness is always welcome from time to time. For a mystery though I like to feel a bit of tension in the storyline and I just didn't feel this while reading on. Perhaps this is because the storylines are just a bit too unbelievable to take seriously. Tension and danger = good mystery . Needed to have more of both of these ingredients. ( )

12 Jan 2010 (Amazon)

Brenda & Effie 2 and things start to hot up for our two heroines of Whitby. Shiela Manchu is having a problem at the fabulously seedy Miramar hotel and she calls in the girls to investigate. Meanwhile, Jessie isn't really feeling herself after her beyond-the-grave experiences, and a visiting Icelandic professor seems strangely familiar to Brenda - but so many of her memories of her long life are packed away and inaccessible. What's haunting Brenda? Will lovely Robert see his Aunt Jessie back to normal, and what lurks in the newly popular Miramar BBQ garden?

Fantastic stuff, marvellously told, with slapstick, shocks, laughs and beautifully observed moments as Brenda and Effie's friendship itself comes under the magnifying glass.

I have the next two in the series (book 5 out in October!) and have a funny feeling I'll be promoting them illegally far up the TBR mountain before long... ( )

This book is just as bonkers as the first book as Brenda and Effie settle down in Buffy The Vampire Slayer style on the edge of a hell mouth in deepest darkest Whitby. I don't want to give too much away, except to say that even more shenanigans ensue as they deal with the various beings and entities drawn in by the hell mouth. I love how Magrs mixes up the genres, horror, fantasy, detective fiction all take their turn in this fun book. Although I enjoyed this book, I have to say that on balance think that the first book is better than this one. But I really want to find out just what is going on at the Christmas Hotel so will definitely read the next instalment when it comes out ( )

Not *quite* as glee-filled a read as the first in the season, but very, very close. Really enjoyed. ( )