Mina and the Undead

By Author / Illustrator

Amy McCaw

Genre

Horror

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

UCLan Publishing

ISBN

9781912979479

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

01-04-2021

Synopsis

New Orleans Fang Fest, 1995. Mina's having a summer to die for. 17-year-old Mina, from England, arrives in New Orleans to visit her estranged sister, Libby. After growing up in the town that inspired Dracula, Mina loves nothing more than a creepy horror movie. She can't wait to explore the city's darkest secrets - vampire tours, seedy bars, spooky cemeteries, disturbing local myths...And it gets even better when Mina lands a part-time job at a horror movie mansion and meets Jared, Libby's gorgeous housemate, co-worker and fellow horror enthusiast. But the perfect summer bliss is broken when, while exploring the mansion, Mina stumbles upon the body of a girl with puncture marks on her neck, clutching a lock of hair that suspiciously resembles Libby's...Someone is replicating New Orleans' most brutal supernatural killings. Mina must discover the truth and prove her sister's innocence before she becomes the victim of another myth. Perfect for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stranger Things.

Reviews

This was such a fangtastic read! I could easily get my teeth into this book and it was difficult to put down as each chapter left me wanting to read on. Mina and the Undead has a strong plot with twists that kept me guessing to the end. This book is anything but predictable and I would certainly read more by this author. The teenagers I work with will love this as they, too, are hooked on vampire fiction/horror/murder mystery genres.

Mina and her sister were abandoned by their mother who had developed an unhealthy fascination with vampires. Their aunt brought them up until Libby moved away to study at university. Mina later travels out to visit Libby with whom she now has a slightly strained relationship. She is thrilled to land a job on a haunted house tour, re-enacting various famous murder scenes. Especially since she has fallen head over heels for 'Lestat', who she was thrilled to have been 'bitten' by on the first tour.

However, Mina has travelled from Whitby in the UK to New Orleans only to find several real murder scenes with oddly familiar themes. A serial killer is on the loose and they are not only replicating murders from the past but have implicated either her or her sister in one of them. Can Mina and her friends find the killer and clear their names without becoming the next victims?

This book is very current with its 'Escape the Room'-style murder mystery tour. It has a Buffy The Vampire vibe and the characters felt very real with their flaws and vulnerabilities. I loved that it was an honest ending rather than the usual fluff. It was perfect.

Content: Violence/LGBTQ+ Characters/Family issues

298 pages / Ages 14+ / Reviewed by Clair Bossons, school librarian