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samcarlin's review against another edition
3.0
A fun read for younger YA readers. It was funny and interesting and managed to keep some mystery involved throughout the whole thing. Not an amazing read, but good.
marie123's review against another edition
4.0
Accused of murder and trapped in a cave with his suspected victim’s body, Selwyn wasn’t exactly having a good day when stumbled upon by the old witch. This book was a lot of fun to read. The characters are enjoyable and the mystery holds a fair amount of intrigue, even for an adult reader. Vivian Vande Velde has a way of creating characters that are three- dimensional without dwelling on descriptions and explanations that would make the story drag. If you’re looking for a good read for a child or just a fast read for an adult, I recommend this one whole heartedly.
elevetha's review against another edition
3.0
When Selwyn is falsely accused of murdering Farold and shut into a cave with all of the dead bodies of by-gone years, he's pretty desperate to get out and prove his innocence.
Or just getting out works fine for him as well. By any means necessary.
So when a witch, Elswyth, stumbles upon him and offers him a way out, Selwyn takes it. He agrees to be her slave\minion for 1 year if she lets him out. But wouldn't proving his innocence be easier if he could just ask Farold who killed him? So he asks Elswyth to bring back Farold which adds another year (or two) to his sentence. But Selwyn messes up the spell and Farold, though back, is now a bat. Quite useful, that.
And Farold was stabbed in the back, thus managing not to see his murderer.
Selwyn has one week to find the real killer before he must return to Elswyth and become, basically, her slave. So he asks for a disguise, racking up more years, and heads into town.
Selwyn thinks it should be fairly easy. Not everyone in the town could be a suspect, right?
Wrong. Turns out Farold was a scum-bag while he was alive and practically everyone has some reason to have wanted him dead, from blackmail to inheritance to a woman scorned.
Even though I would have hated Farold when he was alive; as a back-to-life animal of some sort, I actually kinda liked him. Especially in the last chapter.
Pretty enjoyable mystery with enough suspects and motives to keep you guessing.
kairros11's review against another edition
3.0
Has much of the dry humor I have come to expect from Velde's books and was enjoyable overall. Suffers from the brevity of the story which doesn't allow for as much development. A solid afternoon read.
wealhtheow's review against another edition
2.0
First Selwyn's crush refuses to marry him--and then he's accused of murder! But luckily for Selwyn, he's saved from a slow death by a crotchety old witch. In exchange for years of service to her, she helps him disguise himself to find out who really murdered Farold. And with his disguise firmly in place, Selwyn is discovering some uncomfortable truths about people he thought he knew well...
VVV has a talent for showing us the world through a character's eyes, only to slowly reveal how deeply wrong their assumptions were. She used this to great effect in [b:User Unfriendly|372808|User Unfriendly|Vivian Vande Velde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174251587s/372808.jpg|362729], but it works less well here, simply because she takes less time to do it. I don't think VVV earns the plot twists she uses--the reveal with the witch, for instance, was telegraphed from the start but didn't feel probable (even though it is one of my favorite tropes). If I'd spent more time inside Selwyn's head, or if there had been more scenes of interaction between the characters, I would be all over this book. As it is, it seems like a pale imitation of VVV's excellent [b:Dragon's Bait|372807|Dragon's Bait|Vivian Vande Velde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174251586s/372807.jpg|1307970].
VVV has a talent for showing us the world through a character's eyes, only to slowly reveal how deeply wrong their assumptions were. She used this to great effect in [b:User Unfriendly|372808|User Unfriendly|Vivian Vande Velde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174251587s/372808.jpg|362729], but it works less well here, simply because she takes less time to do it. I don't think VVV earns the plot twists she uses--the reveal with the witch, for instance, was telegraphed from the start but didn't feel probable (even though it is one of my favorite tropes). If I'd spent more time inside Selwyn's head, or if there had been more scenes of interaction between the characters, I would be all over this book. As it is, it seems like a pale imitation of VVV's excellent [b:Dragon's Bait|372807|Dragon's Bait|Vivian Vande Velde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174251586s/372807.jpg|1307970].
kairros's review against another edition
3.0
Has much of the dry humor I have come to expect from Velde's books and was enjoyable overall. Suffers from the brevity of the story which doesn't allow for as much development. A solid afternoon read.
anastaciaknits's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this book up for 75 cents at work! I mean, seriously, how can you beat a new paperback for 75 cents? This book is some fantasy, some mystery, and some laughs. The main character, Slwyn, gets convicted of a crime he didn't commit, and loses his girl, all at the same time - sound familiar? The twist is, the dead man helps to prove his innocence. Yup, the dead man comes back to life, in the form of a bat, and later in the form of a songbird. In the end, the murder's been solved, Selwyn is free to live another day, but doesn't get the girl.
Not bad for a quick read, I give it 3 stars. Worth reading, but I wouldn't bother reading again.
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