Sci-Fi & Scary

I downloaded Scary Mary #1 by S.A. Hunter because I misread “S.A. Hunter” for “S.A. Hunt” who had written Malus Domestica. As I had thoroughly enjoyed that book, I didn’t even think twice about downloading Scary Mary (which was free, to boot!) So, needless to say I didn’t quite get the book I was expecting. However, I wasn’t disappointed!

Scary Mary is a young adult paranormal horror. It’s all about a teenager who has the ability to hear ghosts. Hear, but not see. Not only that, but she acts as an ‘amplifier’ for them. Ie: Their powers get stronger when she’s around. Needless to say, when being in high school is already a royal pain, this just makes things even worse.

However, Mary has a good friend who accepts her abilities (even if doesn’t necessarily fully believe in them), and a grandmother with a touch of the gift herself. So she’s not alone in the world by any means. It is these two people who keep her going with things get rough after Mary inadvertently scares the bejesus out of a group of her peers. Peers that include the new boy who just moved to town that had been getting under her skin in a good way.

Scary Mary isn’t a book that’s actually scary in any way. But, there is a good dose of creepiness factor that will delight those who like to dabble around the edges of horror. The story isn’t exactly hard to figure out, but it’s enjoyable to read nonetheless. The pacing is decent. Most of the characters are easy to relate to for the intended age range.

My favorite part was definitely the dog. There was a definite yuck factor involved, but once you got past that, the idea of the dog was awesome. I mean, it’s pretty much the perfect pet, even if it’s not exactly guard dog material.

A light, uncomplicated, mildly creepy read. As the start to a series, Scary Mary succeeds as well as read as a standalone. S.A. Hunter’s writing is not outstanding as of yet, but the author knows how to spin a good yarn. It also is a complete story that stands alone. There’s no need to read the next book in the series. Which is precisely why I probably will do so.

Overall, definitely worth the read for the intended age range, and probably worth the read for older adults as well. (Though older adults won’t quite get the horror oomph they’re probably looking for.)