Hell's Belles [Kindle Edition]

Paul Magrs does it agian! I've read everything that he has written and enjoyed it all but the Brenda and Effie series is quite possibly the best. I've bought several copies of the books to give to friends to read as I just know that they'll enjoy them as much as I have.

If you haven't read the other books in the series then go and read them first; it's possible to pick one up and just dive in but to get the best of it you need to read the others - and get yourself a copy of To The Devil a Diva... it will become apparant why when see who the diva is.

As always, an excellent read. One of the best of the Brenda and Effie books - if you liked the others, you'll love this.

The seaside town of Whitby is welcoming some mysterious new arrivals both unknown and infamous as `Hell's Belles' opens. First there is Penny, arriving for a receptionist job a job at the Miramar hotel as a newly found all year round Goth and quite possibly escaping something. Second is the cult horror b-movie actress Karla Sorensen, arriving to remake the movie `Get Thee Inside Me, Satan' which caused shock back in the 1960's when various members of the crew and the viewing public for its limited cinema run seemed to become cursed. After the arrival of these two women, and a miraculously appearing DVD copy of `Get Thee Inside Me, Satan' in the Save The Kiddies charity shop, things start to get a little strange and soon the unlikely and rather odd duo Brenda and Effie must investigate and see if they can save Whitby from the supernatural, including a bit of time travelling as they go, once more. There is a lot going on in this book, the longest of the series so far, yet it never feels over done or trying too hard, nor does it get complicated and have you at your wits end.

Not that you need to read the rest of the series to enjoy this one, in fact actually I think this book is probably the most standalone in the series after the first `Never The Bride'. There's no massive recap at the start, things from the past are nicely woven in as we go along. Not that this will bore readers who have read and loved the series so far either as Magrs tells them through Effie's or Robert's reminiscing (Brenda doesn't appear until page fifty which interestingly I really noticed, this book comes alive when both women are at the helm) this worked rather nicely showing the different dynamics between the characters and their friendships rather quickly all through newcomer Penny's eyes and the gossip she hears as she becomes accustomed to the new bizarre haven she has found herself in.

I can't give anything further away about the book but it had a lot more twists and turns as the tale develops, stories that had been bubbling away in the past books (along with characters like Mrs Claus of the Christmas Hotel) seemed to come much to the for yet without stealing the limelight. In fact I actually couldn't believe how much I was starting to like Mrs Claus who up until now I had rather enjoyed loathing. It's the way that Mr Magrs writes characters. In fact be they goodies or baddies, new faces or old friends, they all make you want to read more.
It's the slight gossipy and often campy nature of `Hell's Belles' that makes it so readable. I love how it's cosy, spooky, funny and thrilling all at once. I also really liked the fact that just when you think you might know all the skeletons in the cupboards of Brenda's B&B and Effie's antique shop another one comes and takes you by surprise, again illuminating just how unusual these two wonderful women are, and often in the most funny and enjoyable of ways. It shows that this series has endless possibilities and I am excited about the next one, though I will be savouring reading it as I have nearly caught up with them all now.