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 The
Haunting of Alaizabel Cray (Orchard Books) by Chris Wooding Reading Level: Young Adult Set in an alternative Victorian London, The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray is a terrifically scary tale, one of those books that keeps you looking over your shoulder when reading alone late at night. Thaniel Fox is only 17, the only son of the late Jedriah Fox, the most famous wych-hunter in London. Thaniel has followed in his father's footsteps since he was a child, and is even better at cornering the wych-kin in their foul lairs. From Cradlejacks who steal babies, to dreadful Drowned Folk whose touch kills instantly, London has become infested with wych-kin, horrible supernatural creatures who prowl the Old Quarter of the city, murdering innocents and even some not-so-innocents. One night while hunting, Thaniel finds a girl, beautiful, crazed with fear, and possessed by some strange unearthly spirit. He brings Alaizabel Cray to his home to keep her from further harm, and to try and unlock the secrets Alazibel doesn't even remember she knows. He shares this sanctuary from evil with his mentor, another wych-hunter named Cathaline. However, Alaizabel seems to attract the wych-kin like a magnet, and soon all of them are in greater danger than they could ever have imagined. Released last year in the United Kingdom, The Haunting of Alazibel Cray won the Smarties Prize Silver Award and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, and its reception on this side of the pond should be even more exciting. Wooding packs the book with some very unusual and interesting characters, both human and otherwise, and his ability to depict a London that is Gothic to its core, from the teeming underground tunnels to the spires of a crumbling St. Paul's, is creepily wonderful. This is an intelligent, atmospheric, very well-written and just downright frightening book. I loved it, and I think I'll have a lot of company.— Kay Morris
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