Publication Date: 24th Sep 2024
Genre: Middle-Grade Mystery
3.7 Stars
One Liner: A nice story for kids
December 1975
Flora Winter and her mother travel to a small seaside town, Helmersbruk, to spend the month of Christmas away from the city. Twelve-year-old Flora is in two minds about this move. Her mother is determined to make the most of this time to write and earn some living to support them.
Soon, Flora falls in love with their temporary residence and explores the grounds. The massive Helmersbruk Manor has been abandoned for decades and catches Flora's attention. She also hears whispers, sees strange animals, and meets a shy boy some years her senior.
When Flora realizes a mystery surrounding the Manor, she is determined to dig deeper. But does the house want her to solve it?
The story comes in Flora’s third-person POV.
My Thoughts:
After loving The Raspberry Hill by the author, I was excited about this. Originally, this book was published first in the author’s native native language Finnish. The translations are in the reverse order. (The books are standalone)
This one blends many genres like mystery, paranormal, family drama, etc. It is almost historical in terms of timeline though not quite. However, the vibes are very much historical.
The description of the setting – the manor, the extensive lands, the gatekeeper’s cottage, the labyrinth, the orangery, etc., is easy to visualize. The black and white pencil sketches by Elin Sandström (one at the beginning of each chapter) enhance the visual appeal.
The darkness of the place and the grief in the story align well. Flora and her mother are grieving the death of Flora’s father. The manor is grieving the loss of laughter within its walls. Fridolf is grieving the loss of his family.
That said, there are a few light moments to bring some smiles. Flora is an enthusiastic and curious girl. Her inner monologues can be fun at times. Of course, she also likes to make up stories.
However, the mystery and the paranormal elements are not strong enough. They may work for young readers, though I cannot be sure. I wouldn’t have minded a little more spookiness to the atmosphere. The reveals and twists are a bit too convenient, which dilutes the intensity. Still, kids may enjoy it for what it is. There is a treasure hunt to keep them hooked.
Apart from grief, the book explores bullying, class differences, family secrets, and guilt. These are pretty much surface-level, and some don’t get a resolution.
The past is presented in the form of a letter. This letter has a grayish tinge to differentiate it from the rest of the contents. However, you can see the color change only on the computer (PDF on the desktop/ laptop). The print version should be much better than Kindle if you want to notice these details.
The prologue is balanced by an epilogue and both come in the POV of the manor. We get a nice HEA, so everything ends well!
To summarize, The Secret of Helmersbruck Manor is a cozy paranormal mystery for middle graders. Give it a try if you like old houses and strange events, and a protag is determined to solve the mystery.
Thank you, NetGalley and Pushkin Press (Pushkin’s Children’s Books), for eARC.
#NetGalley #TheSecretofHelmersbruckManor
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This is the second book in July with a house that speaks and a recipe for potato pancakes. Is the universe trying to tell me something? *ha…ha…ha…*
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