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Anyone else read the 44 series by Jools Sinclair? I have read up to book 11 and am anxiously awaiting book 12.

The series is about a young woman who drowned and was officially dead for 44 minutes (hence the title) and was resuscitated. Thus far the main character is very likeable (similar to the character of Odd Thomas) and the cast of supporting characters, people she meets and how, is very believable. Of course there is a love interest, but even that is presented in a somewhat unusual way, and the complications that arise (even though Jesse is dead) are still true to real life . The author certainly knows how to paint a picture with words.

The 44 Series by Jools Sinclair currently has 12 books available. I discovered this series a couple of years ago when I found the first book for free on Amazon Kindle, and I read it in just one day and then immediately purchased the next two books. At that time, those were the only three books available in the series, and I had no idea that it was going to continue for as long as it has. When I recently discovered that there were so many more books available now, I splurged a little and bought the Set containing books 1-10. Still, the cost for this set of ten books is probably less than what I would have paid for the next three books in the series if I had purchased them individually. It’s still like I got several books for free.

To refresh my memory about what happened in the story, I went back and started at the beginning. Each book is relatively short and can be read in just a couple of sittings or over a couple of days when reading for brief periods of time (like I usually do). I love books that are quick to read, yet still leave me with a satisfied feeling of having read a quality book. I definitely get that feeling with this series.

To avoid any spoilers in the series, I will focus this summary on the first book only.

44 tells the story of Abby Craig, a high school senior who is still recovering from a terrible accident that nearly took her life. Technically, she died in that accident – she fell through the ice on the lake and was pronounced dead at the hospital. But forty-four minutes after she died, she woke up and went on to recover. But she didn’t recover completely. She can no longer see colors, and she has no memory of the accident. Actually a lot of her memories are vague. And now she’s having some weird dreams, more like visions, and she can see a murderer who is taking the lives of innocent people in their small town.

That’s as far as I’m going to go, but let me just say this: the first book is jam-packed full of surprises, plot twists, and suspense. My second reading of the book left me just as surprised at the big “twist” at the end as it did during the first reading, even though I clearly remembered what was going to happen. It’s so awesome. The second book picks up where the first one leaves off, though a bit of time passes between each story.

I’m only up to book five now, but it’s still just as amazing as it was in the beginning. I think the first book is the best just because of the awesome twist, but there are still enough “new” things that come up in each sequential book to keep it interesting. I especially like the timeline of the story: there is always a bit of time that passes between each story, so I have actually been following Abby through a couple of years of her life since she first had that accident. It’s interesting to see how she has changed during that time, seeing how she has grown from a high school girl into a woman and how her attitude toward her accident and her “ability” with the visions have evolved.

It’s a paranormal YA story mixed with lots of suspense and maybe just a touch of romance. And there are only a few characters in each book (Abby’s family consists of only her sister), but all of the characters are lovable and believable.

I highly recommend this series. 4 out of 4 stars for all books (so far).

Sounds like something I'd enjoy

Graverobber wrote:Sounds like something I'd enjoy

Yeah, actually, I really think you would like it... So don't read that first post because there is a major spoiler in it! It's like the whole entire point of the first book... which is I tried not to spoil in my review.

And am I ever thankful for spoiler alerts

Sounds good. I added it to my reading list.

I hope you enjoy!

I just finished up the fifth, and I am just kind of sitting here in a daze. Again, didn't see that coming. Whoa....