Ebook from www.wordbeams.com

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Silent Screams

The beautiful blue bottle, engraved with silver markings, is the only thing in her father's collection that twelve year old Lisa is remotely curious about, and she sets about trying to open the bottle, thnking to find something like exotic perfume inside. Instead, she releases a demon who has been trapped inside the bottle.

Lisa has lived with the demon for years, getting used to the fact that she cannot have a life of her own. If she buys clothes, the demon ruins them, if she buys pretty ornaments, the demon breaks them, if she buys books, the demon burns them. As long as its demands are met, it will not do not worse.

When she meets, Jason, the new owner of the shop next door to where she works, she falls in love for the first time, but realises nothing can come of it, the demon will see to that. But Jason doesn't give up that easily and she starts going out with him. The demon is furious and things go from bad to worse. No longer confined to Lisa's house, the demon raises havoc everywhere Lisa goes and she becomes afraid to go anywhere, in case she endangers anyone else, especially Jason.

This is a good story well told. For most of the narrative the demon remains invisible and you begin to wonder if the whole thing is in Lisa's imagination, has she been doing the things attributed to the demon, herself, but just doesn't remember? At first there doesn't seem to be any reasoning behind the demon's behaviour, it just wants strange things and throws very destructive tantrums if it doesn't get them, rather like a spoiled child.

Lisa's terror is deftly handled, this is woman with an amazing strength of character to have held onto this secret for so long without cracking up under the strain. Near the end of the tale, she does begin to break down, not because of what had been happening to her all those years, but beacause the demon attacks her workplace and then Jason.

A very enjoyable read. If this is the sort of high standard we can expect from e-books, then things in publishing will never be the same again.

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