Author: F.E. Higgins
Series: Tales from the Sinister City (no.3)
Publisher: MacMillan Children's Books
Release Date: 6th October 2009
ASIN: B002SQH7KU
Synopsis
When his butterfly-collector father is swindled to within an inch of his life, a vengeful Hector leaves the city of Urbs Umida in pursuit of a fiendish villain with a glass eye. The trail leads to Withypitts Hall, a forbidding Gothic mansion as warped as its inhabitants and their secret schemes. Soon Hector finds himself embroiled in mysterious deeds more poisonous than his worst imaginings, but every twist and turn brings him closer to his revenge . . .
My Review
This is another book that I have had on my shelves for years but never got round to reading so when I needed something to listen to next in my car and I saw this on the shelf at the library I thought I might as well listen to it instead.
The narrator wasn't bad, he wasn't as gripping as some of the others I've heard and he did a really silly accent for one of the characters which threw me off everytime he spoke but other than that he does quite a good job.
This story follows Hector as he journeys to try and get revenge on a man with a glass eye. This man blackmailed his father and ran his company into the ground. Having to give up his business and his precious butterfly collection pretty much finishes Hector's Dad off, so Hector want to make this man pay for what he has done. His journey takes him to the South side of the bridge, life is harder over there and he ends up in a house for abandoned boys with lots of other kids, sort of street urchins. But then he bumps into the mysterious man with the glass eye and Hector takes his chance and ends up going back with him to Withypitts hall. But is revenge the best idea, as more strange events and mysteries occur Hector starts to wonder if this is what he really wants.
To be honest this book had a pretty good concept and was good enough to make me want to know how it ended but I wasn't hooked. I kept realising that I had lost focus and missed a bit of the story but I was never bothered enough to go back and listen to it again and I don't think I missed that much of importance. For me the story was just a bit too drawn out, I kept waiting for some action or revelation from Hector but it didn't come. He also has a phrase that he says when something goes wrong which at first was quite sweet but then it just got a bit annoying to me.
The ending wasn't bad and pulls everything together and finishes off the story but I just wasn't hooked. It was fairly amusing and the characters are well written - they certainly have great personalities. This just wasn't for me in the end.
My Rating
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