Heather’s Bookshelf: Mystery at the Haunted Castle
Author: Paul D. McDonald
Released: 07/07/22
Genre: YA Mystery
“The hideous laugh echoed through the hall again. At that moment, a vivid fork of lightning flashed through the windows, followed by an earth-shattering crash of thunder. The lights flickered once, then the room was plunged into darkness!”
“Mystery at the Haunted Castle” is the first “Flaugherty Twins Mystery” introducing Pat and Patty, teenage fraternal twins.
The twins are drawn to mysteries, never really seeking them out, but still finding themselves smack in the middle of curiosities. In their home town, a fire, a possible theft, and some very valuable dolls begin the tale.
When the opportunity to visit Paris carries the mystery across the Atlantic, the twins can’t help but become more involved especially when they find a doll that looks remarkably like one of the one’s lost at home. Staying at “Chateau Cassefenetre” they soon encounter a hostile staff, a peculiar will, a puzzling diary, and even a ghostly knight.
Will the Flaugherty twins find out the truth before it’s too late or will the mysteries at the haunted castle be too much for the amateur sleuths?
Trigger Warning: violence, arson, robbery
Overall, I enjoyed this tale. It reminded me of some of the mysteries I read when I was young (like The Babysitter’s Club Mysteries or Nancy Drew stories). The structure of the writing was similar and definitely geared toward a younger crowd. It’s an easy read and moves quickly. There’s also an opportunity to follow the mystery and guess the culprit along the way, which I loved. The story follows the twins along their adventure. The twins are very different in personalities and approaches. Pat’s more of a brute while Patty’s more observant and detail-oriented. There’s a little bit of the “twin thing” in the story, but you can tell this is going to play a role in future tales. The author is a big fan of exclamation points. I’m not opposed to the choice of punctuation, except for when it changes the read and here it did. It took away from the moments that were a bit more urgent or important. The story also felt a bit rushed, with scenes jumping from one moment to another without enough detail to make it feel like you were there. I was excited to see the storyline in Paris, but found the descriptions extremely superficial. I did find all the little suspicious events and finds to be a fun storyline to follow. I wanted to see where the twins ended up, what they found out, and if they found the culprit. I was not disappointed. The ending wraps everything up nicely while also setting the stage for the next book in the series.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A YA mystery series beginner- an easy read that moves quickly but lacks in details to truly form a connection to the setting.
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