DATE WITH DEATH

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 100TH EPISODE SPECIAL

GARDEN OF EVIL

CHARMED AGAIN

SPIRIT OF THE WOLF

HAUNTED BY DESIRE sees the Halliwell sisters confronted by another of their perennial problems - guys.

Attending an auction at Bucklands, Prue finds herself drawn to one of the buys and, you guessed it, she's soon smitten by the apparently gorgeous Dylan Thomas.  Not only that, but she's also can't wait to tell Piper and Phoebe all about it.

Piper also has something that she's simply dying to tell Prue and Phoebe about - Dylan Thomas, the great new guy she's met whose band is going to be playing at P3.

So the stage is set for an series of childish tricks as the eldest two sisters try to outdo each other in order to win over Dylan.

All this sibling rivalry leaves Phoebe out in the cold as she attempts to score some extra credits for her course by investigating a murder that took place there on Halloween, 1958.  Of course, this being CHARMED, she's also got guy trouble in the form of unwanted attention from one of her classmates, much to the chagrin of his jealous ex-girlfriend.

Frustrated by her sisters' lack of interest, she decides to cast a spell to help her investigate the ghosts of the principle players in the murder, who are supposedly haunting Thayer Hall.  But when she starts receiving threats are they merely Brett's jealous ex or something more supernatural?

Unfortunately, the more interesting Phoebe storyline - which I found slightly reminiscent of the BUFFY episodes HALLOWEEN and I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU - has to share the novel's slim page count with the less interesting Prue/Piper sibling rivalry one.

This makes HAUNTED BY DESIRE a far less satisfying book than it could have been.  In fact, it might have been better if Prue and/or Piper had been absent for the duration to give those sisters actually present rather more to do.  There's also the traditional Pocket Books problems of continuity with the TV series - particularly the shock revelation that Phoebe's powers include astral projection.  It's a shame that someone at Pocket Books didn't watch MS. HELLFIRE first... BACK TO THE TOP

Written by
CAMERON DOKEY

POCKET BOOKS

£3.99


RATING: 6/10