posted on 13 Oct 2024

Lockett & Wilde’s Dreadfully Haunting Mysteries: The Ghosts of the Manor by Lucy Strange & Pam Smy

The full-throated endorsement of this book by Lemony Snicket on the front cover will give you an immediate signal that this is likely to be something out of the ordinary. And you won’t be disappointed.

In this, the first of what seems likely to be a longer-running series, we meet Matilda Lockett, a young girl who gets to play the spirit of Poor Dead Edna in what amounts to a vaudeville theatre act with her Aunt Evelyn and ‘Uncle’ Barnabus. In the guise of ‘Signora Valentina’, Aunt Evelyn uses Matilda and Barnabus to convince audiences that she’s in touch with the spirit world.

It seems that their act is convincing enough to entice Baroness Rosa Beauchamp into hiring Signorna Valentina to investigate the haunting at her home, Beauchamp Manor. With Matilda and Barnabus suitably disguised to hide their real identity, the theatrical trio take up the challenge.

But Matilda is in for shock because when she arrives at the Manor, she discovers that she really can see ghosts after all. At first, she’s not quite sure what she’s seeing but it soon becomes clear that the spirit of a young boy – Edgar Wilde - is keen to make contact with her and gradually the two become friends.

The site of the haunting that’s bothering Baroness Beauchamp is the stone tower where art expert, Mr Wynn Symmonds is ‘cataloguing’ artworks done by her brother-in-law. The ghostly manifestations are disturbing Symmonds so much that he can’t complete his work – and he has discovered that he can only keep the ghost at bay by playing his violin and making an excruciatingly horrible noise.

Of course, Aunt Evelyn in the guise of Signora Valentina has absolutely no success in ridding the tower of its ghost but Matilda is sure that there’s more to the haunting than meets the eye and suggests to the ghostly Edgar Wilde that they team-up to solve the mystery.

Of course, I’m not going to tell you any more about the how the plot unfolds but you won’t be surprised to hear that the studious Mr Symmonds isn’t quite all he appears to be and there’s a deeper mystery at the heart of all of this that involves a hidden treasure.

What we also discover as the book comes to its conclusion is that ghosts stay attached to the material world when they are ‘tethered’ to something very important in the land of the living. What can that 'tether' be for ghostly Edgar? Matilda of course!

It’s the perfect set-up for a fruitful long-term partnership.

On top of an entertaining story, there’s also Pam Smy’s excellent illustrations to enjoy. They aren’t just decorative adornment here – they are part and parcel of the story experience and make the whole package a treat.

Available now from Walker Books, you will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order you a copy if they don’t have it on their shelves.

 

Terry Potter

October 2024