Those who love the children's series "The secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel" by Michael Scott need to realize that this new series of his is NOT, repeat NOT, for children. This book contains the violent torture and murders of elderly men and women, multiple beheadings and too many boringly gratuitous sex scenes. By the end of chapter 1, two women have been filleted. The beginning of chapter 3 has the evil characters, Ahriman and his psychic wife, Vyvienne, coupling upon a church alter.

So, parents of the kids who loved "Nicholas Flamel", do not stick this book in their Christmas stockings this year.

"The Thirteen Hallows" starts with a young woman in London, Sarah Miller, who saves an elderly stranger from what appears to be a mugging. When the elderly woman entrusts Sarah with a broken rusty sword, she tells her to give it to her nephew, Owen, with the message "I'm sorry for what's going to happen". Thus starts the unlikely journey of two people who have just met. The broken sword holds extraordinary powers and is part of a group of 13 Hallows, ancient holy objects, that protect the world from a demonic horror and must never come together.

Ahriman and Vyvienne, when they are not busy having sex and have time to put on their clothes, are tracking down the Hallows and destroying their elderly owners in gruesome satanic blood rituals. They want to rule the world with the power of the Hallows. Realizing Sarah has one of the Hallows, they begin hunting her by employing inept drug addicts and thugs to do their dirty work. The police are also hunting Sarah and Owen because they think this mousey little bank teller is a serial killer leaving dead bodies all over London. Their train of thought is one dimensional, at best.

I know this is a fantasy novel with ancient magic and folklore and a bit of the Bible tossed in for good measure, but it is highly implausible and has way too many lucky coincidences.The readers are supposed to suspend their disbelief, but it's hard. The characters aren't that engaging, the story is one big chase scene filled with horrific murders, and very little of this story is fresh or exciting. The descriptions of the crime scenes were overboard; the reader knew what the blood looked like, smelled like, it's consistency, freshness, if it was dripping or just puddling. And, strangely enough, the book is written with short paragraphs and chapter; like a children's or young adult's novel.

Again, this is not a book for the squeamish or your children.