Customer Reviews
Better then Deptford Mice? - By: , 06 Jun 2004 
The Whitby trilogy were the first Jarvis books I read, & I still enjoy re-reading them nearly a decade later. The narrative pace is perfectly judged, with palpitation-inducing action skillfully juxtaposed with more reflective moments.
Readers of The Whitby Witches will doubtless want to read this book (and The Whitby Child) to see whether the aufwader tribe are rescued from extinction, & though that is the main plot thread, the development of the characters is also excellently managed- we see Alice Boston go from a slightly irritating busy-bodyish old lady to a wise & powerful woman who is still capable of evoking pathos.
Anyone who has read the Deptford Mice trilogy will enjoy the Whitby books. I would say that they exhibit a more mature style of writing, & are a little more frightening due to the fact that the protagonists & the embodiments of evil are human rather than the more fantastic talking animals of the other books.
I've not granted the book 5 stars because of a petty dislike of the new cover design, which is far too bright & flashy for my liking, but don't let that put you off.
Enjoy reading them!
Gripping - By: Sat, 19 Jan 2004 
What an amazing book! Every page is detailed & discriptivein a way that doesn't weigh down or slow the pace. The author fixes firm imagesin your mind of not just the characters but the location & events. The plot is certainly creepy & slightly overwelming at times but this reinforces the whole feel of the events related. The situations are not meant to be lightweight or easygoing & even if some readers find some passages a bit much, the mystery of the plot will keep you gripped to the end & dying to read the concluding instalment. The author truely has a talent with words which makes you feel ernest empathy for the two unfortunate orphans & physical repulsion at the dastardly events that take place. The only critism I have of this book (and it's a small one) is that it is placed under a childrens catagory. Whereas some of the vivid discriptions may unnerve older readers they could seriously terrify younger ones. But overall, this is a fasinating & gripping book that achieves everything that this genre requires.
Compelling and original follow-up - By: , 09 Feb 2001 This sequel to "The Whitby Witches" holds even more excitement, horror & amazing twists as the first bookin the series. In truth, it is actually BETTER than the first! After the tragic end of the last book, "A Warlockin Whitby" reacquaints us with the three main characters, & also adds a couple more to the ensemble. There are some amazingly well-written scenes, & Nathaniel Crozier is a truly frightening adversary. Jarvis really knows his stuff!
With twists & turnsin the plot (as well as many a tragic & horrifying moment), "A Warlockin Whitby" boasts some original monsters which make sure you're shuddering through-out, a deepening of the Coven conspiracy only hinted atin the first, & an earth-shattering cliff-hanger to top it all off. Truly remarkable. I also recommend "The Whitby Child" which is the final part of the trilogy, & another amazing bookin Jarvis' collection.
An excellent,well thought out,gripping peice of work. - By: , 14 Nov 2000 I must admit im not a great reader,well not as much as i should be,and my wife tells me i have an attention span of a hamster!. So you can imagine that it would have to be something really good to capture my attention & keep it.The WHITBY series did just that, & although i bought the books a few years ago i still read them every year, & they still fire up my sense of excitement & adventure.The second of the books 'A Warlockin Whitby' was just as good as the first of the books.I fellin love with Whitby some years ago & thats what i found so thrilling about the book. I found the descriptions of the places excellent,and having been to Whitby many times could relate to then very well.The descriptions of the characters were well written,not to long winded so the reader become bored,it was just enough to fire up your imagination.The drawingsin each chapter helped to reinforce just what you had readin the text.You would have thought that a second book would have been a little boring,after all,Rowena Cooper visits Whitby & is killed & then along comes her husband,Nathaniel,wheres the storyin that,it must just be a copy of the first book. You would be wrong, as the character of Nathaniel was far more devious & not as headstrong as his wife.Thats why i just could not put down this book as it was just a complete contrast to the first.You actually wanted to carry on reading to find out what happened to the characters & it was no sure thing that they would live till the end of the book..just look what happened to the charactersin the first book.... Allin all the book was well written,The front cover was eye catching & Robin did not fail to keep the readers interest at any pointin the book so much so that when i do get the chance to visit Whitby the images & adventures writtenin this book just keep my imagination fired up throughout my stay.Just a word of warning,dont read this book then go out onto the Abbey plains at night (as i have done) or youll just scare yourself silly ! In conclusion i would agree with other comments that the books provide a good read about magic,excitement & adventurein Whitby,but would diagree that they are for teenagers,after all i am thirty four & why should they have all the fun!
A Captivating Read! - By: , 23 Aug 2000 This book is only good if u have read "The Whitby Witches". As it is part two of a trilogy, many of the characters were introducedin the first book.If u are familiar with Robin Jarvis' work then u will find this as breathtaking as all his other work. An Excellent buy (providing you have read the first book!)
