Wish Me Dead

by Helen Grant

The much-anticipated third novel from a writer set to rival the likes of Meg Rosoff, Mark Haddon and Kevin Brooks. Helen Grant's debut novel, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, was shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. A compulsive thriller.

Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Paranormal

388 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

Helen Grant has a passion for the Gothic and for ghost stories. Joyce Carol Oates has described her as 'a brilliant chronicler of the uncanny as only those who dwell in places of dripping, graylit beauty can be.' A lifelong fan of the ghost story writer M.R.James, she has spoken at two M.R.James conferences and appeared at the Dublin Ghost Story Festival. She lives in Perthshire with her family, and when not writing, she likes to explore abandoned country houses and swim in freezing lochs.

Helen's most recent novel Jump Cut was published by Fledgling Press in 2023.

Reviews

[Catriona · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry, I really wanted to like this book, i loved the idea, but i couldn't accept the behaviour of the characters and became bored with the actions they chose. I thought it could have been a great teen supernatural thriller but i was disappointed after the first half of the book finished and, unfortunately, bored.

[Brielle Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

*SPOILERS*
If you look at the book from a shallow angle, it's good. It gave me the chills when I was reading it late at night and it got me looking over my shoulder, so I guess that's good. BUT, there are so many plot holes it's painful.

Firstly, and the largest one, WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST GO TO THE POLICE? If Kai and Achim actually harassed her, she can go to the police. Why do they just appear in the last few pages? Why couldn't she just go to them? If it's Kai, it's understandable. She was scared and she couldn't think of anything else to do. But Achim? She thought long and hard about that. Forget the police, why couldn't she tell her parents? Why didn't Bianca or one of the other workers tell the police when he stole and he harassed them?

Secondly, if Hanna was, indeed, a lesbian, why did she spend the first half of the book eyeing Max? It doesn't really make sense, and she's never shown any signs of homosexuality. I know it was supposed to be a surprise, but people don't just come out like that. It has to make some sense.

Also, the first, I don't know, two hundred pages were all summarized on the back cover. I could have skipped them all and still understood everything. Also, by the third wish (they made about fifteen hundred) you just knew that it was going to happen, whatever the author was saying. Seriously? She didn't even use the money in the end.

Another extremely unbelievable point is the writing style. How old is Steffi in the book? Nineteen? Twenty? No twenty year old actually thinks like that. It's like Helen Grant wrote it all in third person, decided that it would be better in first, and then switched it around. It was driving me crazy.

Plus, it was impossible to relate to any of the characters. You never got to know anyone well enough, except for Steffi. It seemed like the world revolved around her. Then, you realize that Steffi, in the end, is a very badly formed character. She stutters ninety percent of the time and, magically, after thinking that a witch was after her, she's suddenly a strong, independent character at times, and then stuttering again in five minutes? The character development (apart from being pushed up you nose) is extremely fake and...unbelievable. A shy, stuttering girl isn't going to get any better after being almost raped twice and killing, I don't know, seven people? She's going to get worse. And, it's not gradual. She's shouting at people one second, then stuttering the next, as if, instead of becoming independent, she's switching between her new self and her old self. Seriously?

Other than that, the constant German words drove me crazy. A good way to end a chapter isn't answering your question in another language. That was just...annoying.

Plus, the similarities between Helen Grant's books are just way too common. The main character is always an awkward girl talking in first person. She lives in a small German town. She always talks way more complicated than she should. All the men in all the books are either rapists or killers. The whole book leans towards the supernatural side, until you find out that it's all believable. You kind of figure the pattern out by the second book. I found myself guessing what's going to happen at the 'twists' and I was always right.

Another thing that really annoyed me was the town. Seriously? There's only one good person in the whole town? So far, you've got two rapists, a killer and countless gossipers, and your poor protagonist is the culprit of it all? It's not believable at all, unless Germany really is vile.

I didn't see the point of all the endless time at the bakery. It's like Helen Grant didn't want the wishes to be fulfilled as soon as possible, so she told us about every single miserable order at the bakery. And it always seemed so...full. It's a small town, it's hard to believe that one mediocre bakery would get that many customers. I also didn't see the point of Timo and Izabella's characters. Why did she have to add two characters when the book would be totally the same with just Hanna, Jochen and Max.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful scary mystery/thriller that had me guessing all the way through.

A group of kids visit a crumbly old house that belonged to a supposed witch who died a horrible death yonks ago. For years people have written wishes on pieces of paper and left them for the witch in the hope that they will be granted. But for Steffi they really do come true with some unexpected and scary repercussions.

It reminded me of teen horror films...in a good way, I was always willing Steffi to not do the things she then went ahead and did! But all the better for the story that she doesn't know to quit when she's ahead (and she really doesn't). Parts of the book were deliciously sinister and some were outright gory and grim. Putting myself in Steffi's place I wouldn't have a clue who to trust which made it all the more creepy and tense. There are some great twists and edge-of-your-seat action.

A fantastic introduction to adult thrillers for younger readers.

[Sarmīte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Domāju, būs tāda meiteņu-raganu-misticisma grāmatiņa vieglai atpūtai. Nekā! no misticisma un raganām beigu galā ne smakas, viss TIK reāls, ka reālāk vairs būt nevar, kaudzīte līķu un pamatīgs sižeta savērpums. Un vispār vienu brīdi pat diezgan neomulīgi pabaiss.
2* noņēmu par to, ka tomēr sapratu atrisinājumu diezgan agri; un - vietām likās pārāk izplūdis stāstījums. Kopumā - iesaku!

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a decently and realistically written YA thriller, the idea about a group of teenagers who lived in a Germany small town going to an abandoned house belonged to a long-dead witch and wished for/hexed people whom they hated to drop dead, is a refreshing and chilling one. I really enjoy those witch-house scenes, they are quite spooky. Plus there're other scenes which are quite scary as well when you read the book alone at night.

But sadly for most of the time the main character Steffi is an annoying weak-willed, spineless crybaby who never once stood up for herself, plus the ending is a bit underwhelming, the myth about the dead witch and her curse are more or less forgotten later on. And I have mixed feelings about the true identity of the killer.

[Luula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sorry. Just, whenever I feel in need of a laugh, I will scroll down my to-read list just to find this book so that I can laugh at the cover. I mean, really? What on Earth happened?

Helen Grant had really lovely covers for her other books... But this one...

[Mieneke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish Me Dead is Helen Grant's third novel and once again, she brings us another thrilling mystery with perhaps a supernatural twist. In it she returns to the location of her first novel The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: Bad Münstereifel. As I haven't read said title yet – it's on the TBR-pile – I can't say for sure whether there are any connections between the two books, though there is talk of a spate of murders in the past. The atmosphere of Bad Münstereiffel is perfect. Like the perfect little towns you see on TV during the Tour de France and other European cycling races, Bad Münstereiffel looks completely quaint and picturesque, but is just as small to live in as such towns look. And while such close-knit communities are often a good thing, they can be insidious, because everyone knows each other and they are often rife with small-mindedness and gossip. This latter side is what is showcased in Wish Me Dead to good effect, with devastating consequences, not just in the book's present, but also in its past.

The novel is peopled by an interesting set of characters. Not all of them are as well-developed as our central characters, but they are there for a reason and none of them feel like caricatures, except perhaps Frau Kessel, the town busybody. She reminded me of nothing as much as Mrs Crumplebottom from The Sims 2. She was this pruny old lady, who hung around town snooping and giving anyone who was getting too amorous a slap with her purse! Though Frau Kessel did much worse than just slap some people, she is the ultimate malign gossip. Steffi is part of a strange circle of friends. One of them sort of steals her boyfriend – not that she really minded as the relationship was slowly dying anyway – and two of the boys, Max and Jochen, mostly bully the others into doing what they want. I found it hard to care for any of them and it made Steffi seem isolated and an outsider.

Our main character Steffi is well summed up by her surname Nett, which means nice in German. She is very shy and afraid to stand up for herself, leading her to be easily steam rolled into things she'd rather not do by her friends and family. For example, visiting Rote Gertrude's cottage or staying in Bad Münstereiffel to take over her father's bakery. However, during the course of the book Steffi learns to stand up for herself and to speak her mind. She tries to fight for what she wants, sadly not always very successfully, but she does try. By the end of the novel, she is able to speak her mind and to make her own decisions, without putting other people's desires and emotions first. Thankfully, this is not due to a boy who rescues her and makes everything better, as is so often the case; no, Steffi does it all on her own, with some help of her friends (one of whom is a boy, yes), but mostly through learning some really hard life lessons and finding out the truth about her family's past. Which doesn't mean that by the end of the novel she flounces off perfect and completely confident, but she has learned that she is in control over her own life, as long as she holds onto that control and doesn't let others take it away.

The idea of the witch's house is very cool. Every old town has some sort of old abandoned building and it isn't hard to imagine such a myth as that of Rote Gertrude to spring up in such a place. It is scary, fascinating and it feels as if the witch could appear at any moment. On the one hand it is hard to understand why Steffi keeps going back, on the other hand, the place is compelling and in the case of three of her curses, I do understand why she made them. And it must be strangely empowering for a girl such as Steffi, who often feels tongue-tied and weak, to have all her wishes come true. Wish Me Dead is not just the mystery of who is granting Steffi's wishes, it's also a look at what happens if your wishes come true, however horrible they are. Who hasn't ever thought I wish so and so would just disappear; it would be so much easier? Now imagine how scary it would be if that actually came true? Would you be guilty of murder, because you wished someone dead? Would you feel eaten by guilt and remorse? Or would you fly high as a kite, drunk on the feeling of power? In Steffi's case, it's all of that and more and it's interesting to see how these events help her grow into a stronger, more self-assured individual.

My only real problem with the story was the return of the prodigal sister. Magdalena's short visit seemed a little pointless. So she comes back, shows her face and let's everyone know she is now happy and settled up North. But it didn't seem to actually tie into anything else. It felt rather superfluous, even though the reason she returned was a valid one. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the sisters, some sort of rapprochement between them.

In the end, while I wasn't taken completely unaware as to whom was the killer, I hadn't seen it coming too far in advance, and I really enjoyed the twist to the ending. I loved Wish Me Dead. Ms Grant seems to be getting better with each book. And I love her particular brand of mystery. While mostly marketed to a YA audience, this is definitely very suited to adult readers as well. If you're in the mood for some creepy mystery, Wish Me Dead is the book you want to read!

[Marija · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beigās atrodas vainīgais, kas patiesībā ir lesbiete? Beigās iemīlēties puisī, kas viņai bija nesvarīgs? Un visam pa vidu mistiskais stāsts ar māsu? Iespējams es kaut ko neesmu sapratusi? Katrā ziņā es gaidīju kaut ko labāku. Un tās pretīgās vietas ar līķu aprakstiem, kuri nekad nebeidzas. Paldies nē. Šo grāmatu es laikam varētu ievietot kaut kur tālu plauktā un nekad nevilkt ārā.

[Anna 💖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, had me intrigued from the first page and tightened its grip on me with ever word. Definitely a plot-twist-dump but done in the best way!! Highly recommend. Definitely something I am interested in rereading.

[Sanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5

[Rheeya · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnfed 1.5% in

[Vivien Ernst · Rating 2 out of 5]

Steffi lebt in einer kleinen, deutschen Stadt und arbeitet dort in der Bäckerei ihrer Eltern. Ihr Leben ist nicht gerade aufregend und als ihr und ihren Freunden mal wieder langweilig ist, beschlieβen sie einen Ausflug zum Haus der `roten Gertrud' zu machen. Dort soll laut einer lokalen Legende früher eine Frau mit feuerrotem Haar gelebt haben, die später als Hexe gejagt wurde. Wenn man jemandem etwas schlechtes an den Hals wünschen will, schreibt man es auf und lässt den Wunsch in der halbverfallenen Hütte zurück und dann kommt Gertrud und erfüllt ihn. Natürlich glauben die Jugendlichen nicht wirklich an die Sage, aber die Hütte ist bereits voll von Wünschen auf den Wänden oder auf Zetteln im Mauerwerk und so schreibt Steffi für die Gruppe auf, dass Klara Klein, eine lokale Volksmusiksängerin sterben soll. Am nächsten Tag wird diese tot aufgefunden. Doch damit fängt die Geschichte erst an, denn immer mehr von Steffis Wünschen werden wahr.

Helen Grant hat eine Weile in Deutschland gelebt und hat bisher alle ihre Bücher in Deutschland im Zusammenhang mit einer (erfundenen) lokalen Legende spielen lassen, so auch dieses.
Aber wie bereits der Vorgänger `Blutige Scherben' konnte mich auch dieses Buch nicht richtig überzeugen.

Es fängt spannend an, die Legende wird gut erzählt und die Geschichte der Hexe scheint angenehm gruselig.
Doch je mehr seltsame Dinge passieren, umso unklarer wird für mich das Verhalten der Jugendlichen, allen voran Steffi. Es wird einfach viel zu schnell angenommen, dass es wirklich eine Hexe gibt, die die Leute umbringt. Das war wirklich viel zu unrealistisch. Also ganz ehrlich, so gern ich auch Legenden und Sagen mag, aber wenn in meiner Umgebung plötzlich so viele Leute sterben, denen ich vorher vielleicht auch noch Böses gewünscht habe, da denke ich erstmal an ein Verbrechen und nicht an eine Hexe. Aber Steffi verschwendet daran kaum einen Gedanken. Sowieso versucht sie unglaublich wenig um der Sache auf die Spur zu kommen. Wenn sie nicht zur Polizei gehen will, ok, obwohl ich das auch bereits fragwürdig finde. Aber das naheliegendste wäre doch sich mal auf die Lauer zu legen und zu gucken, wer nach ihnen die alte Hütte betritt und ihre Wünsche abholt, denn immer wenn Steffi einen neuen Wunsch aufschreibt ist der alte verschwunden. Doch daran wird kein Gedanke verschwendet, nein es muss ja eine Hexe gewesen sein, klar.

Dazu kommt dass einige der Leute denen in der Stadt Böses gewünscht wird, wirklich ein paar üble Typen sind, wie zum Besispiel Achim, der auch in der Bäckerei arbeitet und dort Steffi und die anderen Aushilfen belästigt. Angeblich heulen sich die Mädchen deshalb regelmäβig die Augen aus, aber macht eine mal den Mund auf und sagt Steffis Eltern dass sie da schon fast einen Sexualstraftäter beschäftigen? Nein. Was sind das denn bitte für idiotische, feige Mädels, also ganz ehrlich, das hat mich richtig wütend gemacht.
Und das war dann auch mein zweites groβes Problem mit diesem Buch, neben der sofortigen Annahme es müβte eine Hexe sein. Steffi ist eine unglaublich lahme Protagonistin, feige, langweilig und begriffsstutzig. Leider ist sie dennoch immer noch die Beste aus der ganzen Clique, die alle noch schlimmer sind. Auch unter den Jugendlichen wird kaum miteinander geredet und man hat das Gefühl jeder tratscht da über jeden. Ich habe bis zum Schluβ nicht verstanden, warum die eigentlich Freunde sind, weil sie eher wie eine lose Gruppe von Jungs und Mädels rüber kommen, die sich zufällig manchmal über den Weg laufen, von richtiger Freundschaft keine Spur. Und leider werden auch alle anderen Einwohner der Stadt als absolut furchtbar und ach so gemein beschrieben, entweder sie sind Killer, Vergewaltiger oder schreckliche Klatschtanten, denen man doch eigentlich allen fast ohne schlechtes Gewissen etwas Böses an den Hals wünschen kann. Bitte?! Was soll das denn für eine Stadt sein?! Absolut fürchterliches und unglaubwürdiges Setting.

Ach eine Sache noch, wenn ich merke dass ich nur einen Namen aufschreiben und in die Hütte legen brauche und die Person daraufhin stirbt, höre ich doch irgendwann mal damit auf oder nicht? Egal was dahinter steckt, Verbrecher oder eine echte Hexe, wenn fast jeden Tag irgendeine neue Person drauf geht, wegen mir, dann lasse ich es doch ab einemm bestimmten Punkt endlich mal sein. Aber nein, Steffi macht fröhlich weiter und ist dann jedesmal aufs neue ach so geschockt. Na klasse.

Naja, deswegen war das Buch insgesamt leider nicht so mein Fall. Die Grundidee ist spannend und klar es passieren immer weitere Morde und unerklärliche Dinge, aber wie damit umgegangen und wie die ganze Sache `erforscht' wird war fur mich unglaubwürdig und sehr langatmig. Keiner stellt mal klare Fragen oder stellt aktiv ein paar Nachforschungen an. Schade. Ein spannender Jugendthriller ist für mich leider etwas anderes.

[Aria Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Helen Grant's 3rd book, and just like the 2 previous, I really enjoyed this one.

Some readers complain of the fact she always offers the same kind of stories. Well, yes her 3 books are suspense books involving murders and mysterious events, yes they take place in Germany, yes folklore and legends constitute an important part of the stories, and yes each time the heroine - who is also the narrator - is a young woman.
However. The plotlines and deeper themes are not alike. And the 3 heroines are all very different types of young women. Pia was just a little girl with a strong mind and a lot of imagination, Lin a rather sulky and rebelious young adult, while here our heroine Steffi is a very shy, self-confidence deprived young woman.

The story of Wish Me Dead makes Steffi feel even worse about herself, since she is under the assumption she is responsible for someone's death. Indeed, she wished for it in an old ruined house, which local legends have it is haunted by the witch who used to live there before she was killed, some centuries ago. Could she be the cause behind the person's death? Her, transparent, timid, pale Steffi linked to something as incredible as a witch granting wishes? The only way to know is to wish for something again, to see if it comes true... It is then the beginning of a dangerous path for our heroine...

If I really enjoyed the folkloric aspects of the story as well as the cleverly managed suspense, I also liked a lot the psychological depth of the novel. Our heroine is a nice, decent person that gets caught up in a whirlpool of bad decisions and actions, and whose each attempt at making things better only make them worse. The feeling that she is special, different, that she's getting through her wishes becoming true, brutally gives her an impression of power and confidence that she had lacked all of her life, and that she doesn't really know how to handle. Apart from being a thriller this is also of course a coming-of-age story.
You can really relate to Steffi, her fears, her interrogations, and the people in her life (from her pseudo friends to a colleague way too much friendly), who are described with vivacity and liveliness, really sound real.
The climax was well mastered and intense, and even though I'm not completely satisfied with the very end of the book (that lacked a bit more answers or details in my opinion), I still give this book 5 stars for the hours of suspenseful reading it brought me, for its original story, and for Helen Grant's wording that is a festival of striking analogies, strong images and witty sentences.

[Elisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's always interesting to read a book with so few reviews on this website because you don't know what to expect. With more popular books, there are so many reviews and ratings that it's easy to decide whether you want to read it or not. Since this is not a popular book, I had no idea what I'd think of it when I found it in a book store a few years ago. I just thought it looked interesting. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. Despite a dark and mysterious plot, I found this book so hard to get into and in some places I'd even say that it bored me. I'm not sure whether it was the writing or the characters or the sometimes sensational plot lines that I didn't connect with, but I found this book disappointing which is a real shame because from the synopsis, it sounded like just my kind of thing.

I think that my main issue lay with Steffi, the protagonist and narrator. I thought that she was a completely flat and bland character and therefore I had difficulty sympathising with her. I realise that she was trying to be portrayed as shy and quiet, but that doesn't mean that she had to be stripped of all personality. Also, I found it a bit strange how she switched from feeling guilty for people's deaths to wishing death to everyone without a second thought. I realise that sometimes she was angry and anger clouds people's feelings, but her transformation from nice girl to killer seemed to come about a little too quickly for me. And, unfortunately, Steffi wasn't the only boring character. Julius seemed completely pointless to me and I couldn't bring myself to care about him at all. Steffi's friends, especially Timo and Izabela, also seemed mainly pointless and sometimes I completely forgot that they existed. Steffi's attraction to Kai could have been better explained since all he seemed to come across as in the book was a complete asshole. There just didn't seem to be any interesting characters at all. When I pictured them all, I saw them dressed in dingy colours with frowns on their faces. They didn't seem alive or vibrant or stand-out, and I suppose that's probably the reason why the book dragged for me.

This being said, I did like the ending. I wasn't expecting the twist and I thought that it was a clever way of ending the story. Perhaps it was a little over-the-top, but it was still the most exciting part of the book. That's what saved it from a one-star rating from me. Unfortunately though, the rest of the book wasn't anywhere near as impressive. It's a decent read if you're more interested in plot than characters and don't mind a few sensational moments, but I personally struggled to enjoy it. What a shame.

[Aeldra CL Pendragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic thriller story! It had me up well in to the night, too scared to close my eyes for more than a millisecond. Helen Grant is a brilliant author and her characters are believable, charasmatic and unlike most novels, don't have any special powers to make them more interesting - the plot line makes up for that!

The novel follows Steffi Nett, a shy young adult who works at her parents' bakery. She aspires to do more, but her quietness makes her easily overlooked. Her parents almost seem to wish that she had gone missing a few years ago, not her older sister, and her group of friends seem to be abandoning her slowly, not to mention her boyfriend who is starting to have eyes for another. The only person she really develops anywhere near a close friendship to is Hanna, described as "robust" and "dark-haired".

One night, the drunken group of friends stumble up to the crumbling house of the supposed witch "Rote Gertrud". The house is isolated in the nearby woods and for centuries, many people have stumbled up there, begging Rote Gertrud to grant their pleas. There, they each make a wish on a scrap of paper, none of them expecting anything to come from it, but all of them with a faint glimmer of hope as they go their separate ways and fall into bed.

Except - Steffi's wish does come true. Egged on by her friends, she makes another, and then more and more: and each time, they come true. Scared by what is happening, Steffi confides more and more in Hanna, who is the sole person who Steffi feels she can trust. With these wishes comes the surprise return of Steffi's sister, and the true reason for her sudden departure.

But is there more to the story than meets the eye? Is it really Rote Gertrud who's casting Steffi's wishes?

[Becka Hamill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Walpurgis night in the quiet German town of Bad Münstereifel when painfully shy Steffi Nett reluctantly agrees to visit the house of Rote Gertrud, a witch burned to death for the murder of two children. Lured by the tale of Red Gertrud, Steffi, Timo, Max, Izabela, Jochen and Hanna head to the abandoned house with one aim: To kill Kara Klein. Steffi is forced to write the hex, and place it in a box found in the floorboard of the house. When the wish subsequently comes true, the gang heads back, intent on making their own individual wishes. Once again, Steffi's wish comes true, leading the gang to believe that she holds the power. When more and more deaths occur because of Steffi's wishes she begins to question the power that she holds, and the responsibility that comes with it.

One thing that I found extremely magnificent about this book was the amount of detail that went into the descriptions. From the start, I was lured in by Steffi's emotions, and how well they were brought across. Steffi's characteristics are highlighted right from the start, but as she developed through the novel I began to feel a greater connection to her and felt more at ease reading her first person perspective.

The premise of the book was one that I had never encountered before, and this fresh idea left me wanting to see where the plot would end up, although I had never anticipated that it would go the way it did. The ending is magnificent, one that feels right for Steffi's character and leaves you feeling pretty satisfied.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, I'd say, but I had one large problem with it, which generally made me dislike the whole of the novel.
I liked the concept and the idea. Th setting was perfect, as was the witches house. I liked the plot twist at the end, although I had seen it coming from around halfway through.
It's the characters I really dislike. None seem really developed. Some, in my opinion, seemed set up to be important, but never were developed or mentioned bar a few times. Jochen, Timo and Izabela for example. I also didn't like a few of the choices they made. Timo especially, I didn't understand how he could do what he did without even mentioning it to Steffi?
Either way, I really can't stand some of the characters. Steffi as well. She develops greatly throughout the duration of the book but she also annoys me. It seems as if she rarely thanks anyone for anything, and is suspicious of everything.
One more thing I dislike was the appearance of Steffi's sister. It didn't amke sense. Lots of clues were dropped on her sister, the reader slowly figured her out... then she visted. And then she went. And that was it. No connections to the story. It felt completely out of place.
Despite my dislike to a lot of the book, I couldn't stop reading it. It drew me in and I continued reading. I couldn't stop reading. It was a really good book, therefore, I think, but the characters made me dislike it.
I would recommend, if you can get past the characters at least.

[Noll · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having previously read The Glass Demon by the same author, and having liked several aspects of it immensely while it ultimately fell short of noteworthy, I decided to give her one more chance. I'm glad I did, but only insofar as I now know not to read any more.

As with The Glass Demon, this novel started off promisingly, and I think even about a third of the way in, I was convinced it was going to be a four star read. But ultimately I think Grant gets an idea in her head, and forces it to work, by way of extremely unlikely events and cardboard characters who all serve no purpose but to further the plot. This means the characters are generally unpredictable, 2-dimensional and for some reason, all absolutely terrible people. Every man Grant writes (in both books) at least suffers from problems, if is not an outright sexual assaulter or murderer. Not that her women get away with much - the main character in this is extremely inconsistent, unlikeable and immature. Another female character is fat and gluttonous, another a busybody out to ruin lives, another is a sociopath - Grant must hate people! The plot started off well, but became quite ridiculous and largely impossible by the end.

It's a shame, because Grant definitely has the capacity to write interesting and absorbing prose - that's how I got through both books. Unfortunately, she really needs to work on her characters and on branching out from the one plot formula she seems to use in every book.

[Ela · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Steffi wishes Klara Kleine dead it was just a joke, something to kill the time. However when Klara drops dead Steffi starts to wonder if someone is granting her wishes, and if so, who?

Okay, well as soon as this book started I twigged that it was set in the same town as Katharina Linden was, that was as good a start as any.
Basically if you want a good mystery then this is a great choice.
I enjoyed the protangonist's charcter development throughout, it was subtle and convincing.
The ending of this was good, but as it got nearer, i found it a tad predictable.
Helen Grant does excell in her descriptions in this book; I could almost touch the shambling walls of the long dead witche's cottage.
I also thought she wrote well about how relationships change when one person comes into posestion of something desirable.
However I thinking that the rest of Helen Grant's books are destined to recieve four stars, because after reading her first novel 'The Vanishing of Katharina Linden' my hops are set so high.
Having said that I will definately keep devouring anything Helen Grant that comes my way; and wait for the day when I am, again, chilled to the bone.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will say one thing about Helen Grant, her descriptive writing is amazing. I think that's what I probably loved most about this book - the descriptions. I felt like I could clearly visualise the witches' house as the scarred, demolished, structure; eroding the beautiful woodlands surrounding it.

The story line itself was really interesting and kept me guessing constantly. It was different to any other mystery story I've read before and the outcome/ending was not what I was expecting. (I am hitting myself for not realising it sooner!)

Although, this being said, I felt that a few things were left unresolved. What happened to Steffi's father? What happened with Julius? What happened to Magdelena? I find it hard to believe that after she reappeared they would allow her to disappear again? I also didn't believe the whole thing with Timo and Izabela - surely if you had been with someone for three/four years you would provide them with the courtesy of an explanation or at least a conversation?!

So many unresolved answers just kind of left the book hanging and unfortunately I was left unsatisfied.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely the weakest of Grant's books so far, but I still enjoyed it, for what it was--sort of a YA horror/mystery story. To me, the main problem (besides the cover--yeesh!) was that it really needed more editing. At times it got really repetitive, and the final confrontation...didn't really make a whole lot of sense. It felt, at times, as though Grant wrote this, then changed a few things here and there, and then never really went back over it to makes sure everything actually still fit together well. I also never managed to connect with or respect the main character--I just couldn't understand the choices she made throughout the book, and kind of wanted to slap her several times. And man, poor old Bad Münstereifel--what a bunch of murdering crazies that town gets! Still, it kept me interested enough to want to find out how things would turn out in the end, and I read the entire thing in one day. So there's that!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed to take forever to read, which surprised me as I've enjoyd both Katerina Linden and The Glass Demon. I wasn't engaged with this character, or her situation-I just wasn't really convinced by her addiction to the wish fulfilment and some of the scenarios she found herself in. I was a bit more engaged with the plot when the rumours started to fly but although I liked the scene at the house at the end, I couldn't help thinking that she really would have called the police. As for wishing to kill various characters - that was just unlikely. I'm also not convinced that she needed to place this in the same village as in Katerina Linden. Just realised I don't want to include spoilers so my comments are limited! Perhaps I'll stop now!

[Steff S (The Bookish Owl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. At first I was put off by the German place names and other words and debated giving up but I started it on my lunch break at work and didn't have anything else on me and by the end of the half hour I was hooked.

The characters were interesting even if we didn't know much about them. There was a romantic history hinted at between Steffi and one of her friends which isn't explored enough in my opinion. I liked the place descriptions.

This would have been a 5 star but the ending was a little predictable. I worked out who it was a little bit before Steffi did and the why when who was confirmed was kind of obvious.

Bonus enjoyment of the character sharing my name: Stefanie! Spelling and everything :D

[Marieke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helen Grant creates a great story set in Germany. After reading this book i wish i could be in Germany and own my own bakery. this book is my favorite book ever ! I have read some amazing books but this tops it...Helen Grant makes a mysterious and twisted story intertwining witch craft in to the story. This book frightened me a lot...The end is very twisted and shocking...i would never have guessed it although looking back through the book i found subtle hints as to the end of the book. I recommend this book if you want to be thrilled and kept on your toes.

[Cupcake Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you think this is a fantasy story about a witch don't read it. It was ok to start with, but there are so many ways this book could have ended and the author chose the worst one. Who wants to read a fantasy story with a logical explanation???? I liked it to start with, I couldn't stop reading it but it all just decided to make itself stupid.
Oh no someone upset me I'm going to hex them. Oh no they're dead what have I done? Ugh

[Jolice · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was reading this book, I experienced something that I don't remember having before. At the most critical moment of this book, my heart beat faster, my breathing speeded up. I can't really believed how amazed I was - that the author had the abiliy to trap her readers in the book and cause them to feel the anxiety, fear and excitement when they are reading her book. This is a book of love and fear, combined as one, but it totally rocks! :D

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this has to be the worst book I have read so far this year. It needed to be cut down by about a third, and it need definitely needed an injection of adrenaline!!

The main character was so lacklustre and insipid, literally everything she said / did / thought was BORING! The storyline kept going round and round in circles, and didn't really amount to much.

Really had to push myself to even finish it :(

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a YA novel and if you are looking for a light easy read then give it a go. Whereas adults can usually get away and enjoy reading most other YA stories. I wouldn't recommend it in this case.

I will be honest it's not the most invigorating content I have read. However, it had a simple straightforward story, with boys, friends, wishes and murder! Everything a teenage girl could want!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

i found this book quite hard to get into at first but once i got the momentum i really quite enjoyed it. i tend not to look at the back of the book until i finish the book so was unaware of the glossary for the german terms at the back. the random splattering of german words throughout the book was slightly off putting as i dont speak german. but overall it was a pretty good book!

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasantly chilling, and hard to put down.
However some parts in the plot of the book were a bit obvious.
I cant help but think that the main character is a bit weird and stupid. You`ll understand if you read it.
Apart from that, a good book. :)