by Ben Guterson (j Guterson)
If you are looking for a cozy, classic kids’ mystery with a twist of magic, you have found it.
Orphan? Check. Living with despicable relatives? Check. Mysteriously invited to spend Christmas at a magnificent hotel resort? Check. Huge multi-story library with almost-magical paintings? Check. Little dab of untapped magic abilities? Check check. Huge mystery that’s solution could save the world from evil? Big old check check.
Yep. Winterhouse, an Edgar Award finalist and an Agatha Award finalist, has all the key components to make it a winner. It’s kind of Harry Potter meets Nancy Drew. Our eleven-year-old heroine, Elizabeth Somers, finds herself at a splendid resort hotel for Christmas. As the holiday approaches, she discovers pieces of a mystery that she feels compelled to solve. The current hotel owner, Norbridge Falls, is a grandson of the hotel’s creator, Nestor Falls. Nestor built the lakeside hotel at the foot of mountains for families to take something positive away when they return to their everyday lives. But is the hotel good, or bad? Elizabeth gets a feeling that the portraits in the library point to a mystery with big consequences. Why do almost all the females in the Falls family live to the age of 100–except for the current owner’s wife, child, and sister? Why does the quirky book, “A Guide For Children” seem to reach out to her? Why do unexplained things happen when a certain feeling comes over Elizabeth? Why does a sinister couple watch her? And what is the meaning of the puzzle message on the book in the Falls family portrait? Can Elizabeth solve the mystery, find the key, and save the world from an evil femme fatale?
Winterhouse grabbed me from the first chapter and I found myself wanting to get to the end of the mystery, but yet not wanting the story to finish. Fortunately for me, Winterhouse is now the first in the Winterhouse series by Ben Guterson. The Secrets of Winterhouse and The Winterhouse Mysteries continue the tale of magic and mystery in the world of the grand Winterhouse hotel.
[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser.]
[ official Winterhouse series page on the official Ben Guterson web site ]
Recommended
by Cindy K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service
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