Humor and horror provide engaging mix in tale of twin sisters.

“Angela and Diabola,”by Lyne Reid Banks, is a story of angelic forces and diabolic evil.“Angela and Diabola”

Lynne Reid Banks, the best-selling author of “The Indian in the Cupboard” series, brings us a comic novel of two sisters in “Angela and Diabola.”

Banks has written more than 20 books for children and adults, including “I, Houdini,” “The Magic Hare,” “One More River,” “Broken Bridge” and “Adventures of King Midas.”

“Angela and Diabola” is a story that will tickle your funny bone, but do not think for a moment that it is not equally as scary.  It is a story fo angelic forces, diabolic evil, and the necessary balance of the two in every child.

The story begins with the unexpected arrival of twins to Mrs. Cuthbertson-Jones.  But these are no ordinary twins, as she soon finds out.  One is sweet perfection, the other unbelievably horrific.  Impossible? No.  It’s the unmistakable reality that Mrs. Cuthbertson-Jones and her husband must face as Angela grows more and more perfect and Diabola grows more and more evil and unbearably frightening with each passing day.

What to do when even the vicar can’t seem to exorcise the evil out of Diabola?  And what happens when Angela and Diabola discover they have special powers and Diabola takes hers to the extreme?  Can Angela stop her?  Sibling rivalry doesn’t begin to describe it.

Banks has put her belief in the importance of fantasy in developing a child’s inner world to work in her books.  “Angela and Diabola,” with its wonderfully memorable characters, is no exception.