Today I'm delighted to participate in the book birthday blitz for Tessa Buckley's Middle Grade mystery Haunted, the second instalment in The Eye Spy Series. Haunted Alex doesn’t believe in ghosts, but he is about to have his beliefs challenged… When Jimmy Devlin asks the twins to investigate the strange things that have been happening at The Priory, Alex seizes the opportunity to prove to his sister that there is no such thing as ghosts. However, it soon becomes clear that unquiet spirits are not the only problem facing the Devlin family. Are the family servants hiding secrets? Has a valuable ring been stolen, or just mislaid? And what has happened to Jimmy’s missing elder brother, Harry? As the twins and Jimmy try to solve the many mysteries of The Priory, they discover they are dealing with a very dangerous enemy… Purchase Link UK / US Troubador My thoughts: Happy Re-Release Day to the second instalment in Tessa Buckley's award-winning middle grade series of mysteries! First of all, I'd like to say that I love the new cover art which captures the essence of the book and is more age appropriate. The book can definitely be read as a standaone, although there are references to the case solved by the main characters in Book 1. The protagonists of the series are twins Donna and Alex and the author manages to capture a typical sibling relationship really well- they argue, compete, try to outsmart each other, but, ultimately, they know they can always rely on their sibling. This time the case is ....almost paranormal. A boy comes back to their school after a long perieod of absence. It turns out Jimmy Devlin's parents won a lottery and bought an enormous house with plenty of history. Jimmy thinks it might be haunted. Well, Alex doesn'tbelieve in ghosts- there's got tobe a rational explanation! Donna is more open to the idea, but would like to investigate the issue. Off they go to solve their new case! The book is well-structured with short snappy chapters. It is very easy to read this mystery and follow the events. The characters are interesting and have their own unique personality. There is a cast of secondary characters, because managing this large medieval house, which used to be a Priory, requires employing a housekeeper, a chauffer and several other servants. The setting is also very appropriate for a fascinating mystery! I really enjoyed the spirit of adventure that permeates this book and would definitely recommend it to my 10-11 year old students! Author Bio – Tessa Buckley was an inveterate scribbler as a child, and spent much of her time writing and illustrating stories. After studying Interior Design, she spent fifteen years working for architects and designers. She took up writing again after her young daughter complained that she couldn’t find enough adventure stories to read. This led, in 2016, to the publication of Eye Spy, the first in a series of detective stories for 9-12 year olds, designed to encourage reluctant readers. The second book in the series, Haunted, was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2017. Tessa lives with her husband and a large white cat called Pippa. in a town on the Thames estuary, which inspired the seaside setting for the novels. She also writes about health and nutrition, and family history, which has been her passion for many years. Social Media Links – Thank you for reading the post! Have a wonderful Wednesday!
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