review
Ravenman is a hair-raising thriller which will keep young readers on the edge of their seats.
On her first day at an exclusive boarding school, sixteen-year-old Clara Hansen finds a dead sparrow in her bed – the signature of a vicious serial killer who has murdered the bed’s previous occupant. The victim is discovered in a nearby forest with the wings of a dead crow sewn to her naked shoulders. A short time later another girl suffers a similarly gruesome fate.
Clara starts her own investigations into the murders, while trying to make friends at school and standing up to a girl gang headed by the despotic Melanie. She is supported by a handsome older boy with whom she slowly but surely falls in love, and by a mysterious adviser who sends her text messages that cannot be traced. An abundance of false leads and intriguing suspicions maintain the suspense until the novel’s dramatic climax, when Clara finds herself in league with her arch enemy Melanie and eye to eye with the murderer. As the killer’s identity and motivations are revealed, the different pieces of the story fall into place to form a mesmerising whole.
All recommendations from Spring 2015