We're waiting for you to come and play. Dunvegan School for Girls has been closed for many years. Converted into a family home, the teachers and students are long gone. But they left something behind…
Sophie arrives at the old schoolhouse to spend the summer with her cousins. Brooding Cameron with his scarred hand, strange Lillias with a fear of bones and Piper, who seems just a bit too good to be true. And then there’s her other cousin.
The girl with a room full of antique dolls. The girl that shouldn’t be there.
The girl that died.
This is another book in the Red Eye series and so far it's my favourite. Not just because it mostly takes place in Scotland and an isle of heritage importance to me (heritage is meaningless). This involves odd Victorian dolls with a matching folk song if that doesn't scream creepy then you have never seen an a doll or know the horror of Folk singers.
The chapters are headed by lyrics of the song Frozen Charlotte. This was interesting tactic as the song isn't creepy or really at all related to the dolls. It does involves two idiots dying but that's all. Okay, maybe some people would find that creepy.
The Protagonist Sophie is a likable character, surrounded by sympathetic characters. Some of the characters are almost horror archetypes, but they didn't feel that way when I was reading it. The horror is built up well, with a extreme start but Sophie's fear gradually grows and there is an effect to create tension.
This is also involves an old house in an isolated cliff that was once a bordering School (see, it checking off a lot from the Spooky List of Horror). Also Ouija board and at least one ghost. There is one small modernisation but I think it really works and it is realistic thing someone would do.
The ending does play more like a horror film punchline than a novel conclusion(, Slight Spoiler:it really reminds me of the start of Jurassic Part II). Especially, if anything it's a prequel this novel deserves, more than a sequel.
Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars for Sealed Windows. Whilst not being that scary, the horror elements are done well and I buy the story. Also I loved anything with evil dolls that tell you to do bad things. Update: I have now reviewed the prequel, Charlotte Says.
I got this for review off NetGalley and it' is published by Stripes Publishing. (Though, I also actually owned a copy for ages, this was getting review no matter what, but I'm at uni and I couldn't take every book I own and ebooks are handy for times when feel awkward taking a book and reading it, say the student union).
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