![](\"http:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/deadspell.JPG\")
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CreateSpace, April 28, 2011<\/p>\n
ISBN: 978-1461006633<\/p>\n
Available: Digital and Kindle<\/p>\n
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0There’s no doubt about it: Ms. Frisch has talent. The reader can recognize it right from the beginning of\u00a0Dead Spell<\/em>, her debut novel about a violent, avenging spirit that torments two teenage girls. But, like a lot of independent authors who self-publish, the novel could have used a good\u00a0editor’s touch.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Harmony and Brea are best friends, but Harmony is haunted by a specter named Tom, who tortures her as she tortures herself through several destructive acts. The only bright spot in her life is her boyfriend, Adam, who is a product of the foster care system and is also a heartbreaking figure, and is loyal to Harmony the point of insanity. When the hauntings of a ghost lead to a deadly end, the spirit settles on Brea and the cycle begins again, for the apparition will not rest until justice is done. The world of\u00a0Dead Spell<\/em>\u00a0is dark, sinister, and addictive; events just keep getting worse, in a steep downward spiral, but the quality of the writing compels the reader to continue. The treatment of the main characters makes them sympathetic, and a ring of truth can be heard reverberating throughout the book as it chronicles their lives on the skids.<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0It wasn\u2019t the grammar or punctuation that was the problem with\u00a0Dead Spell<\/em>, but rather some of its content and flow. What makes a good editor worth her weight in gold is not spellchecking, but the ability to point out problems with the\u00a0storytelling itself<\/em>. This book was\u00a0that close<\/em>\u00a0to being great, but just couldn\u2019t close the deal. The book didn\u2019t really\u00a0begin<\/em>, but rather picked up in the middle of the action in a very awkward way. Jaxon, Brea\u2019s supposed love interest, was unconvincing, and their whole relationship left a sour taste of disbelief in my mouth. (Adam, on the other hand, swept me off my feet, making me wonder why he put up with Harmony\u2019s abuse\u2014another unresolved issue.)\u00a0 When the ghost\u2019s identity is finally revealed, it made\u00a0absolutely no sense<\/em>\u00a0why he was doing the things he was doing. Finally, the ending was not in congruence with the rest of the story, it just\u2026stopped. I am happy to report that she has been published by Anachron Press recently (The City of Hell Chronicles, Volume 1<\/em>), so perhaps this lack of editing treatment has been remedied for future works.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I can recommend the e-book version ($2.99 at the time of this review), but suggest passing on the more expensive paper copy for now. (If she republishes after a good reworking, I\u2019d be happy to revisit the novel and eat my words.) Do keep an eye on Ms. Frisch, horror fans\u2014if she stays the course, there may be a quality author emerging.<\/p>\n \n Contains: gore, violence, sex, paranormal activity, mutilation<\/p>\n \n Reviewed by: W. E. Zazo-Phillips<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CreateSpace, April 28, 2011 ISBN: 978-1461006633 Available: Digital and Kindle \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0There’s no doubt about it: Ms. Frisch has talent. The reader can recognize it right from the beginning of\u00a0Dead Spell, her debut novel about a violent, avenging spirit that torments two teenage girls. But, like a lot of independent authors who self-publish, the novel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,123,171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-ghosts","category-paranormalsupernatural"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Eu9f-od","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1501"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1502,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501\/revisions\/1502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/ReadingBites\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}