Uncle Vampire

Powerful and compelling, this book is deeply disturbing. Californian teenager Carolyn would like to reveal the secrets of her uncle’s terrifying night visits, but cannot bring herself to tell the people who are close to her about them, for fear of being called crazy. Her twin sister Honey knows, but tells her they should keep quiet. Her drug addicted brother Richie knows, but seems powerless to do anything about the situation.

This intensely gripping tale is no ordinary horror story, as the title might suggest, for here Grant is not dealing with crucifixes and garlic but the harrowingly real experience of a sixteen-year-old with a secret which is not only too painful to share but actually too terrifying to face. Carolyn claims her blood is being drained by her Uncle Toddy, but as the pulsating plot develops we begin to realise that, in fact, she is being raped by him. The idea of Toddy being a vampire is, as her High school counsellor discovers, Carolyn’s way of dealing with a horrifying reality which is infinitely worse than her nightmarish imaginings. ‘I felt I was dying but he kept me alive, and murdered me again and again and again.’

Grant offers a tight plot, precision engineered narrative and fine-tuned dialogue combined with excellent characterisation. She deals with a very sensitive theme head-on and serves up some surprises in the conclusion which I will not reveal here. Read it. The book has advice at the end about contacting Childline, for youngsters who are, or have been, sexually abused.