This was not my favourite of Gordon's novels for teenagers/young adults. It brings in rather too many supernatural elements - we have Emma and her aunt who hear voices plotting to kill someone, the killer and his sister who also have psychic powers and who can communicate with each other when separated by miles, and the main protagonist, Harry, who also starts to develop this same ability with Emma. On top of that, the unlikely killer revives a zombie like creature, the flesh eater of the title, which we learn was first employed back in medieval times to keep the local populace in line.

There are some good set pieces - some of the interaction between the young people rings true, and there are nastily realised descriptions of the various violent deaths, plus the difficulties Harry and Emma have in dealing with the various adults in their lives, but the way the two characters veered from believing in the supernatural, then dismissing the whole thing, then believing in it again seemed rather contrived. The way the various supernatural elements piled on top of each other made it difficult to suspend disbelief so I can only rate this as an OK 2-star read. ( )