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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN num: 9780843958966
ISBN number: 0843958960
Label: Dorchester Publishing Company
Manufacturer: Dorchester Publishing Company
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 323
Printing Date: April 03, 2007
Publishing house: Dorchester Publishing Company
Sale Popularity Level: 149457
Studio: Dorchester Publishing Company
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Rated by buyers 
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This book was one of the most awful books I have ever read! It was very slow moving. I didn't even finish reading it before I threw it in the trash.
Rated by buyers 
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I am a new fan of Sarah Pinborough and stumbled onto her books by chance here on Amazon. This is the second book I've read by the author [the very first being The Reckoning,an atmospheric tale about a house with a will of its own]. "The Taken" didn't disappoint either, and is much more complex than The Reckoning in terms of plot.
In this novel, the protagonist is Alex, a young woman living in the quiet English village of Waterrow who is unfortunately dying of cancer. She lives with her aunt Mary and at the beginning of the novel, Mary experiences something troubling that brings back the past - a past that she had hoped would remain buried forever. When Alex's cousin Paul and his friend Simon visit to celebrate Paul's 40th birthday, Mary's rambling about a certain Melanie Parr causes Paul to get agitated much to Alex's surprise. That night, Alex has disturbing 'visions' of a ghostly specter, a child who seems to be warning her of something terrible that is to come.
Well, things get worse from that point on as the foursome awake the subsequent morning to a terrible storm raging through the village, essentially cutting them off from the outside world [no cell phone coverage, phone lines down etc] and things get even more sinister when Simon and Alex come across the vicar, who dies shortly after,but not before warning them about Melanie Parr's return.
Another gruesome death in the village alarms the villagers, and Alex finally finds out the macabre truth about Melanie Parr and her mysterious disappearance decades ago during a similar storm. With two local children missing and more troubling events to follow, it's left up to Alex to figure out how to get all of them out of the situation alive.
This is a supernatural tale that will whet the appetite of any fan of the paranormal - a good old-fashioned ghost story peopled with credible characters[ and well-developed ones at that], a villain that chills the bones yet surprises [a 10 year-old evil child ghost with vengeance on her mind],a folkloric legend called the Cather Man and rich atmosphere [the raging storm, the isolated villagers trapped and cut off from the outside world, creepy children that appear and disappear at will, and otherworldly giggles].
Sarah Pinborough is definitely a horror author worth checking out - her novels are well-plotted and the characters have depth. Her stories have a sense of menace that grips the reader from the very first page till the last. Highly recommended!
Rated by buyers -
This book was the very first that I read by Sarah Pinborough. It grabbed your attention from the very beginning and held it through the entire book! I found it very scary. Sarah knows how to tell a great story. This book is highly recommended and I just began Tower Hill. Great so far! Can't wait to read the rest!
Rated by buyers -
I am forever on a quest to find good horror authors, and as a rule I almost always prefer the Brits. I'm also forever on a quest to find good female horror authors, and Sarah Pinborough has stepped into that sparsely-populated spot rather well. I discovered her through Dorchester/Leisure's large line of mass market horror paperbacks.
Not only do I love the way Brits tend to write, but I also love English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish settings. In this story, Alex(andra) is a young woman who, after the demise of her marriage, has come to stay for awhile with an aunt in the rural English village of Watterow. One of the most startling and effective devices in this story is the fact, known only to Alex and to the reader, that Alex is dying of ovarian cancer, and dying quickly. She only has a few months left, and the cancer is the real reason her marriage ended, although no one knows this because Alex has decided to keep the cancer a secret from everyone for as long as possible, until she literally cannot hide it anymore. For the reader, knowing this and being inside Alex's head as she struggles with her pain, despair and internal rage, brings out an intimacy and dark edge to the story that really changes one's perception of everything that takes place.
Not really ready to deal with anything beyond the very immediate present, Alex runs straight into an old secret the town has covered up for decades. All Alex knows at very first is that a supposedly long-dead, angelic-looking 10-year old girl named Melanie Parr has something to do with a sudden rash of shockingly violent deaths in the once-peaceful little town, and that whenever the girl's name is mentioned the locals - including Alex's own cousin - glance at each other, clam up, and radiate fear from every fiber. Who on earth was this girl, Alex wonders, and what kind of sinister hold does a little girl lost in a storm 30 years ago have on these people? Who, too, is "The Catcher Man" people whisper about - often in the same breath? Once a pagan forest legend about a fertility god, twisted into a sinister being who steals children, it poses an interesting if indirect question about what kind of genuine power the human `thought form' can give to something and truly make it real.
I was thoroughly captivated by this book and have already ordered Pinborough's other novels. She's definitely one author horror fans should be watching for if they haven't discovered her already.
Rated by buyers 
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Alex was preparing for her cousin Paul's arrival and his 40th birthday party when her aunt Mary has the shock of her life when she is approached by the ghost of a girl who died nearly 30 years ago. Melanie Parr disappeared and it seems she has come back to the small town of Watterow in England, bringing storms with her and seeking revenge in very creepy ways.
Alex is discovering she isn't the only one with secrets as the town's people, aunt and cousin included, all seem to be hiding something. Strange and deadly things are happening and no one knows how to stop it.
I don't generally read this genre, but a friend read it not too long ago and the storyline intrigued me. Is there anything creepier than evil children? I think not. This story delivered plenty of chills and as my city experienced power outages this weekend I found myself reading by candlelight then doing that ultra girly leap/dive into bed so Melanie and the other spooks in this story couldn't catch my feet from under the bed. I also ran from room to room looking over my shoulder. Embarrassing, I know.
This story is surprisingly complex and even tugged at a few of my heart strings when dealing with some of the secrets and the ending in particular. This was a suspenseful and creepy read and I am glad I stepped out of my normal reading realm to enjoy this one.
Cherise Everhard, June 2008
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