This is a YA novel that takes you by the throat and doesn't let you go until the very end. Here Lynn Carthage unfolds a series of mysterious events in the Gothic style. Her narrator, Phoebe, hovers between life and death as she encounters Madame Arnaud, the vampire bent on feeding on children's blood.She must work to save her baby sister from Arnaud's clutches. The author avoids the blood and gore prevalent in the vampire genre, and instead deftly intertwines the past and the present as Phoebe encounters the spirit world she has joined in death. This novel is well-written and compelling. I look forward to the next book in the series.
