‘Demon Sky’ is a young adult tale by prize-winning author, Stephen Aleppo. In the first chapter we meet sixteen year old Charlotte after she has been discharged from hospital. We see the action through her eyes in the third person and the past tense.

Leaving aside the unlikely possibility that her aunt would welcome her when her own son lay in a coma in hospital, we accept the scenario that Charlotte goes to stay at the creepy Foxley Grange. As soon as she arrives, she feels uncomfortable. She meets her gluttonous Irish cousin, Holly, who is able to fill Charlotte in on Nick’s accident and also all manner of strange occurrences in the locality. Holly suspects aliens but Charlotte’s more down to earth curiosity takes them to the nearby research facility.

Can all the peculiar events be explained by the scientists who are looking at harnessing lightning as a power source? What is the motivation behind the odd behaviour of Margaret Sutherland, an elderly lady who is desperate to keep all children off the dark sinister bridge? How do a star-shaped object, unlikely employees at the stable next door to Foxley Grange and a black mist hiding a menacing secret, all fit together? We are encouraged to read on to find out.

Each new character is introduced in a subtle way as the layers of the story build. There are some vivid descriptive passages as we watch Charlotte and her foils try to unravel a dark supernatural mystery. We have snippets of foreshadowing of a powerful evil force getting stronger as the plot develops.

An awful lot happens in a very short space of time so the story zips along at pace, which will no doubt appeal to its target audience. Some interesting and well thought out elements are introduced as the climax draws near and I’m impressed by the imagination of the author who doesn’t fall into the formulaic trap of overplaying the evil monster angle.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book; the young cast carry the story well with a few older characters playing cameo roles along the way. This is a welcome refreshing approach in a crowded genre and I think it could be a winning formula. I award five stars.