The Hand of the Devil

January 1, 2007
Gr 9 Up-As a journalist for the weird science magazine "Missing Link", recent college graduate Ashley Reeves has dealt with his fair share of crackpots and phony tips, but the letter from Reginald Mather seems genuine. Mather claims to have in his possession the only known specimen of a particularly large and deadly variety of mosquito known as the Ganges Red, a legendary creature believed by some to have supernatural abilities. Ashley quickly departs for Mather's isolated cabin on Aries Island where, of course, he is promptly cut off from civilization and finds himself in the company of a very unpleasant insect and at least one madman. It turns out that the Ganges Red, aka Nhan Diep, was once a human who betrayed her husband, and she needs Ashley's blood to break the curse. Carter's novel contains a fair helping of gore, but never generates much tension or atmosphere. Although large portions of the novel are devoted to people explaining various back stories to one another, none of the characters (with the possible exception of Mather) really emerges as an individual. Suspense and horror fans will probably find Lois Duncan and Darren Shan more satisfying."Christi Voth, Parker Library, CO"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2006
Fans of Michael Crichton and of Darren Shan, the author of the Cirque du Freak series, will delight in this fast-paced tale of magical mosquito gore. Young journalist Ashley Reeves writes for a science magazine dedicated to "the weird and wonderful," but he has had nothing juicy to investigate in his short tenure there. Then he gets an assignment to check out a unique mosquito that lives on an isolated island in England's Lake District. The mosquito turns out to be an enormous, telepathic, psychotic insect, intent on obtaining mass quantities of blood at any cost. Reeves ends up in serious trouble, stranded on the island with the insect's mad, murderous scientist keeper and the mosquito, which believes Ashley has the unique blood combination she needs to regain her once-human form. There's a tiny bit of romance, but mostly this tale provides solid, entertaining action in return for the reader's suspension of disbelief.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)