Birthdays of a Princess

by Helga Zeiner

[wcs53]

Birthdays of a Princess is the second book by Helga Zeiner that I have read. I chose to read and review this one because I enjoyed the other one, Section 132, so much. Although the topic of this book is much different from the first one, both books have very strong teen females as the main character.

This book is a very well-written psychological thriller that moves along at a decent space. It has enough twists and turns along the way to keep the reader interested. There are also enough clues and hidden details to keep the reader guessing to the end.

Initially I had little sympathy for the 'Princess' in the story, especially the way in which she committed her crime and them seemed to be very uncooperative. However, as the story started of her short life so far started to be revealed I found myself starting to understand how she had come to be the way that she was. In describing the life of the main character, Ms Zeiner pulls no punches and gets into things that some people may even find hard to believe exist in the seemingly widespread way that they do. I don't want to give anything away, so you will have to read the book to understand what I am talking about.

There are some strong secondary characters as well and it's great to see their stories being revealed bit by bit and finding out where they are all headed.

I have to say that I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would and that it is a definite page turner that draws the reader in. The book puts the reader through a whole spectrum of emotions and this may be what made it so enjoyable for me. I look forward to the next book from Helga Zeiner, because so far I have read two excellent thrillers from her.