Review of Drusilla Blood by Miriam Cooke

The story revolves around two women, Edith and Drusilla, Edith from the early 1900’s and Drusilla from the early 2000’s.

Outwardly prim and proper we find that there is a hidden depth to Edith, a feisty individual with an independent mind.  When four friends decide to have a séance they think that it’s just a harmless bit of fun, but they end up biting off more than they can chew when they unleash an entity that reverberates down through time. What has been unleashed has an impact that nobody could have envisaged; when Edith played with fire she had no idea how burnt she would get.

Drusilla works in a new age shop although her first love is archaeology. Her personal life has more downs than ups and when she breaks up with her latest boyfriend her boss suggests a weekend at a festival might be just the thing for her. The problem for Drusilla was that it was certainly the start of something. 

    

The story of the two women is told in parallel, built layer upon layer, the tale unfolds as the author cleverly mixes the two viewpoints. The writing style flows effortlessly and together with good characterisation encourages you to turn the page. When she delves into the paranormal you get a character full of menace whose preferred activity made me wince more than once.

When comparing this work to others better known in the same genre, you can’t help but think of Stephen King or James Herbert. In times to come the name Miriam Cooke would stand well alongside.

Horror and paranormal fans will love this book, and I for one am eagerly awaiting the next offering from the author.