Review: Mina and the Slayers by Amy McCaw

We dive into the horror-stricken life of Mina, a not-quite-normal teenager trying to settle into her new life in New Orleans, three months after a tragic death at Fang Fest. Mina is now surrounded by friends and family, and has a part-time job she loves at the local police station. However, when there is a dubious rise in the number of animal attacks and murders being investigated by the police, Mina is filled with a passion to bring justice to these eerie killings. During her investigations, she finds a group of slayers trying to subdue the unruly vampires responsible for the attacks. How will Mina handle this discovery and balancing her relationship with recently turned vampire Jared? Will she overcome these dangers and threats?

I loved the quick pacing with enthralling plot twists just as the novel began to slow down, allowing for a constantly suspenseful, but enjoyable read. I found the plot quite engaging and perfectly balanced, with a good amount of complexity.

The only slight issue I found was the excessive amount of characters that were hard to keep track of, as I felt this took away from the development of other major characters, such as Detective Cafferty and Jared. However, this issue was easily overcome by brilliant character development of the main character Mina, adding quite a thrill to the novel, as I felt a sense of connection and relatability to her.

Personally, I would recommend this coming-of-age novel to teenagers as it discusses some difficult topics such as violence and changing relationships, but I also loved how McCaw incorporated many meaningful themes such as family and love into this truly riveting novel. McCaw expertly blends horror, 90s pop culture and a normal teenager’s life to form a spectacular tale of action, especially for fans of 80s or 90s murder mysteries and YA books. A novel well worth a read!

Maheen Cheema, 14