Shadowghast Written by Thomas Taylor. Reviewed by Alastair, Age 11

Herbie is a person who is doesn’t seem to like adventures and appears to enjoy living a quiet life. Unfortunately, adventures keep finding him, and he soon gets dragged into another one in Shadowghast, which is the third book in the Eerie-on-Sea series.

I don’t know whether it was because I hadn’t read the previous books, but I found it hard to connect with the main characters, even though the story does stand on its own. I also found that there was a lot of build up before the action really kicked in, with several explanations about the Shadowghast, which started to feel quite repetitive.

However, the last third of the book was much better. As they continue to look into the mystery of the disappearance of Violet’s guardian, Jenny, they start to uncover the truth, and this is when the book really starts to grip you. There are many unexpected discoveries and moments of drama. The huge amount of suspense meant that I quickly read the last section.

Overall, I think it was well-written and I think that fans of the previous books will really enjoy it. The characters of Herbie and Violet are interesting and I think that if I’d understood their storylines better, from having read the previous books, I’d have been more interested in their investigations in the earlier part of the novel so don’t be put off my my honest review – just read the first two books in the series before this one!