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Oracles of Delphi Keep #3
Quest for the Secret Keeper (Oracles of Delphi Keep (Hardcover)) by Victoria Laurie
Delphi Keep is awash in activity, and for Ian, Theo, and Carl, their safe haven might be nearing its end. The Royal Navy has taken the keep to use as a hospital and the tunnels running under the keep and the castle are ideal to set up a central communications outpost for the approaching war. The earl is happy to help the effort, but now the keep is no longer safe for the orphans and they must be evacuated to his winter residence. Ian, Theo, and Carl know that if they're sent away, they'll no longer be protected. But more important than their safety is deciphering the third prophecy. All clues point to a quest. The orphans don't know where they must go, but they know they must rescue the Secret Keeper.To do that, however, they need to work out who this Secret Keeper is. And what, exactly are the secrets he's keeping?
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
23 people are currently reading
1024 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Laurie
56 books3,135 followersVictoria Laurie is the New York Times bestselling author of 32 books and counting. Over the past 16 years Victoria has created several series and a few stand-alone novels. Her mystery series include: The Psychic Eye Mysteries, The Life Coach Mysteries, and The Ghost Hunter Mysteries. She's also the author of two YA books, When and Forever Again, as well as a middle-grade series called The Oracles of Delphi Keep.
Currently, Victoria is working on the 17th book in both the Psychic Eye Mysteries and the 3rd book in the Life Coach Mysteries, along with also working to produce a brand NEW series called Spellbound set for release winter/spring 2020.
Victoria loves to connect with her fans, and you can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Victo...
Currently, Victoria is working on the 17th book in both the Psychic Eye Mysteries and the 3rd book in the Life Coach Mysteries, along with also working to produce a brand NEW series called Spellbound set for release winter/spring 2020.
Victoria loves to connect with her fans, and you can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Victo...
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 49 reviews
February 27, 2012
This series is positively epic. I can't believe the depth and complexity of the characters and storyline, yet it remains middle-grade friendly. For readers who love books like the Narnia series and Deltora Quest, this is a perfect fit.
Quest for the Secret Keeper is the third book in the Delphi Keep series, and it moves the plot forward brilliantly. I continue to grow more and more attached to the characters and their efforts to fulfill the prophecies. I also appreciate the use of historical details in world-building and to heighten tension.
I highly recommend this series for lovers of fun, interesting, thought-provoking, and epic stories. It's a winner.
Quest for the Secret Keeper is the third book in the Delphi Keep series, and it moves the plot forward brilliantly. I continue to grow more and more attached to the characters and their efforts to fulfill the prophecies. I also appreciate the use of historical details in world-building and to heighten tension.
I highly recommend this series for lovers of fun, interesting, thought-provoking, and epic stories. It's a winner.
March 16, 2012
loved it
December 6, 2018
Captivating! I started this book and was 36 pages in when I discovered it was book 3 in the series. Written in 2012, this and the others were at my library. "Finally", I thought, "I will get to read an entire series without having to purchase a book!"
So I returned Book 3 which had a wait list and was due back and I checked out the first 2 books. Read them and waited eagerly to check out this book again and finish the series. But alas, that was not to be.
Every one of these books kept me fully immersed. And then came to the final paragraph which set me up for Book 4. WHAT? Where's Book 4??
There is no book 4.
I stumbled across a few online petitions and even a GoodReads special group established for the sole purpose of begging the publisher to allow the release Book 4. Nothing really addresses the reasons for the absence of a book 4. Is it written? Are there legal issues preventing publication by the author? An editor problem? What drove the publisher to prevent release?
All I can say is fair warning. Read books 1-3 in order if your mind wants to enjoy the magical journey provided by this author. It's a wonderful ride. But know that you will be left wondering what the final quest is, who lives, who dies and how.
So I returned Book 3 which had a wait list and was due back and I checked out the first 2 books. Read them and waited eagerly to check out this book again and finish the series. But alas, that was not to be.
Every one of these books kept me fully immersed. And then came to the final paragraph which set me up for Book 4. WHAT? Where's Book 4??
There is no book 4.
I stumbled across a few online petitions and even a GoodReads special group established for the sole purpose of begging the publisher to allow the release Book 4. Nothing really addresses the reasons for the absence of a book 4. Is it written? Are there legal issues preventing publication by the author? An editor problem? What drove the publisher to prevent release?
All I can say is fair warning. Read books 1-3 in order if your mind wants to enjoy the magical journey provided by this author. It's a wonderful ride. But know that you will be left wondering what the final quest is, who lives, who dies and how.
September 22, 2017
Ah, the bittersweet ending of the third -- and, apparently, the lats -- installment in the marvelous Oracles of Delphi series. It sorts of ties of some mysteries and loose ends, but it clearly was not supposed to be the end. Yet, we have learned, much to our sadness and regret, that there are to be no more books in the series. Even so, the three books that are available are well written and worth reading. A fantastic literary world, an exciting story line, and a number of endearing characters. What's not to love? Victoria Laurie, we would be very glad if you returned to finish the series!
May 18, 2019
World War II is officially in motion, and Ian and his friends find their many journeys back and forth through the portal riddled by German soldiers and encounters with the Mages of Demogorgon - but they cannot let anything stop them from finding the Keeper and remaining United. Laure may drive off many readers with this unresolved ending, she delivers another exhilarating entry that will shock fans for sure. With so many enemies closing in, can Ian and his allies find the Secret Keeper before he vanishes permanently?
July 7, 2023
Was the ending terrible? No… But did they fulfill the prophecy that they set out to accomplish at the beginning of this book? Nope. Did a lot of people die through out the series? (A lot of the good guys, too) Yep!! So, those are gonna be the factors here for the low rating.
April 1, 2020
This was a great story and I wish the author would finish it. It still totally worth the read for the amazing characters and amazing world/plot.
December 30, 2020
Again, another page-turner fantasy book on which one does not need to think deeply. For the most part, I really liked it. I tired a bit of the teenage angst, but it's Y/A so I guess that's an "important" element of Y/A fiction.
August 10, 2022
I loved these series as a whole! So sad that no further books came out...
November 19, 2022
Really disappointed the publisher didn't release book 4.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2023
This was a really fun and interesting series. I definitely recommend it.
November 7, 2023
This book was pretty slow and I just couldn't get into it. DNF
September 14, 2024
The series continues. This time sending the group on a quest to find the ‘Secret Keeper’ & to discover what secret they are keeping. Another good YA.
October 25, 2013
MontanaLibrary2Go
Good news and bad news. The third book in the series, and I've noticed that the series seems to be written with the intent that readers grow with the characters. This was a relatively new idea when the Harry Potter series did it, the first book being written for an 11 year old audience and the successive books getting both more challenging and more adult as the characters grew older. In this third book of the Oracles of Delphi Keep the story deals with Nazis, war, senseless and tragic deaths, abuse, a number of things that are far more difficult than what was present in the first book. The young protagonists take on much more responsibility for themselves and their decisions than in previous books, and are more often on their own without guardians or schoolmasters.
I read the first three-quarters of the book and had to set it aside for a couple of days, because Carl and Ian's reaction to Germans and Germany was hard to read. I know that it was realistic, for two young English boys living at that time who had already lost loved ones to the war (in front of their eyes, even), who had been bombed and shot at, who had lost their home, who were constantly surrounded by talk of the German war machine, the very idea of Germans was as The Enemy, as People to be Detested. The author did get that correct. But that doesn't make it easy to read. Knowing that young boys in those circumstances would not separate German civilians from the actions of their military does not make it easy to read Carl's atavistic hatred. Ian does acknowledge that he couldn't risk seeing the German boys as people, because he would stop thinking of them as the enemy, but it's later and it's brief.
The action of the book was once again at a high pace, the plotlines are well woven and nothing seems to be dangling or forgotten. The prophecy in this case was much more obvious than in the earlier books, but the author actually had one of the characters remark on that, so it was clearly intentional. Much less Theo in this book, which makes sense. When you have a character who can see the future and gets warnings of danger and such, it's a bit difficult to create the right amount of dramatic tension without continuously making it about her knowledge of an impending event.
Now for the bad news. On the author's website is this note: "Hey, my wonderful fans! So, I have some not so great news to share with fans of the Oracles' series...my publisher has decided not to move forward with a 4th and final book. I'm so, so sorry. I would like to thank everyone who supported the series - your kindness and generosity have been most appreciated, and I'm truly, truly grateful! :)"
Good news and bad news. The third book in the series, and I've noticed that the series seems to be written with the intent that readers grow with the characters. This was a relatively new idea when the Harry Potter series did it, the first book being written for an 11 year old audience and the successive books getting both more challenging and more adult as the characters grew older. In this third book of the Oracles of Delphi Keep the story deals with Nazis, war, senseless and tragic deaths, abuse, a number of things that are far more difficult than what was present in the first book. The young protagonists take on much more responsibility for themselves and their decisions than in previous books, and are more often on their own without guardians or schoolmasters.
I read the first three-quarters of the book and had to set it aside for a couple of days, because Carl and Ian's reaction to Germans and Germany was hard to read. I know that it was realistic, for two young English boys living at that time who had already lost loved ones to the war (in front of their eyes, even), who had been bombed and shot at, who had lost their home, who were constantly surrounded by talk of the German war machine, the very idea of Germans was as The Enemy, as People to be Detested. The author did get that correct. But that doesn't make it easy to read. Knowing that young boys in those circumstances would not separate German civilians from the actions of their military does not make it easy to read Carl's atavistic hatred. Ian does acknowledge that he couldn't risk seeing the German boys as people, because he would stop thinking of them as the enemy, but it's later and it's brief.
The action of the book was once again at a high pace, the plotlines are well woven and nothing seems to be dangling or forgotten. The prophecy in this case was much more obvious than in the earlier books, but the author actually had one of the characters remark on that, so it was clearly intentional. Much less Theo in this book, which makes sense. When you have a character who can see the future and gets warnings of danger and such, it's a bit difficult to create the right amount of dramatic tension without continuously making it about her knowledge of an impending event.
Now for the bad news. On the author's website is this note: "Hey, my wonderful fans! So, I have some not so great news to share with fans of the Oracles' series...my publisher has decided not to move forward with a 4th and final book. I'm so, so sorry. I would like to thank everyone who supported the series - your kindness and generosity have been most appreciated, and I'm truly, truly grateful! :)"
October 16, 2012
This is an adventure book with lots and lots of amazing characters like Caphiera and Atroposa the evil twins who are looking for the Secret Keeper, their brother, and Ian, Carl and the rest of Delphi Keep Orphanage.
Vocab. to understand.
Sundial- The way people back in the day told time with or in this story a magical trinket.
Jacks- it is a game played with little pointy things and a ball often not played in this time period.
Trinket- It is a small item that can be used to help you find something in this story.
People to know
Caphiera- A evil sorceress that is like Medusa except has the power of ice.
Atroposa- A evil sorceress that is sisters with Caphiera and has the power of the wind.
The Secret Keeper- He is the one who is hiding the sliver boxes for the evil sorceress.
Adria- Wife of the Secret Keeper and the one who helps everyone escape France.
Ian- A teenager that lives in Delphi Keep,the Orphanage,with his best friend Carl.
Carl- His loyal and devoted friend who saves his life, but yet doesn't die.
Theo- The sister of Ian who is the seer or she can see the future in parts and is called an Oracle.
The Earl- he is the owner of the Orphanage and helps Ian escape the English Admiral.
Agros- His real name is Iyoclease the Oracle.
My favorite part of the book is when the sorceress are almost to them,which was not good because they were trying to find them, the green door,and the Secret Keeper,because the night before Ian had asked the sundial to find Theo's jacks. So they tracked the magical waves coming from it because there was a shadow pointing in the way that the item is and it can't be stopped until the item is found. So the witch that was with them could track them when ever the used the magical trinket. So what happened was that they lost the signal because they heard the witch saying that she could track them using it so he pulled it from his pocket and they dug through stuff furiously until they found it. The sisters were in an ally between two buildings when they lost the signal, so they decide that they would go throw both the buildings. Luckily they went into the other building first, and they escape the wrath of the twins.
This book is like the best book in the whole world! For instants like when Carl almost died for drinking potion filled with deadly ink. He survived and was able to turn any metal object into any thing he wanted. Read this book it is the bomb!
Vocab. to understand.
Sundial- The way people back in the day told time with or in this story a magical trinket.
Jacks- it is a game played with little pointy things and a ball often not played in this time period.
Trinket- It is a small item that can be used to help you find something in this story.
People to know
Caphiera- A evil sorceress that is like Medusa except has the power of ice.
Atroposa- A evil sorceress that is sisters with Caphiera and has the power of the wind.
The Secret Keeper- He is the one who is hiding the sliver boxes for the evil sorceress.
Adria- Wife of the Secret Keeper and the one who helps everyone escape France.
Ian- A teenager that lives in Delphi Keep,the Orphanage,with his best friend Carl.
Carl- His loyal and devoted friend who saves his life, but yet doesn't die.
Theo- The sister of Ian who is the seer or she can see the future in parts and is called an Oracle.
The Earl- he is the owner of the Orphanage and helps Ian escape the English Admiral.
Agros- His real name is Iyoclease the Oracle.
My favorite part of the book is when the sorceress are almost to them,which was not good because they were trying to find them, the green door,and the Secret Keeper,because the night before Ian had asked the sundial to find Theo's jacks. So they tracked the magical waves coming from it because there was a shadow pointing in the way that the item is and it can't be stopped until the item is found. So the witch that was with them could track them when ever the used the magical trinket. So what happened was that they lost the signal because they heard the witch saying that she could track them using it so he pulled it from his pocket and they dug through stuff furiously until they found it. The sisters were in an ally between two buildings when they lost the signal, so they decide that they would go throw both the buildings. Luckily they went into the other building first, and they escape the wrath of the twins.
This book is like the best book in the whole world! For instants like when Carl almost died for drinking potion filled with deadly ink. He survived and was able to turn any metal object into any thing he wanted. Read this book it is the bomb!
July 14, 2015
After two excellent predecessors, the third book in the Oracles of Delphi Keep series was a disappointment. It seemed as if someone else were writing parts of the book in a totally different style. Some of the characters behaved in a contrived and totally nonsensical fashion, which is not Victoria Laurie's trademark.
Despite that observation, the pace was quick and it was a page turner, and a definite cliff hanger for the fourth and presumably final book of the series.
HOWEVER, the BIGGEST disappointment is that after leading her readers down this adventurous and entertaining path, Victoria Laurie has decided not to write the 4th and final book. It seems to me that she decided to devote her energies to the Ghost Hunter series instead. So reader, beware. You will be left with a huge cliff hanger and a sense of betrayal.
Despite that observation, the pace was quick and it was a page turner, and a definite cliff hanger for the fourth and presumably final book of the series.
HOWEVER, the BIGGEST disappointment is that after leading her readers down this adventurous and entertaining path, Victoria Laurie has decided not to write the 4th and final book. It seems to me that she decided to devote her energies to the Ghost Hunter series instead. So reader, beware. You will be left with a huge cliff hanger and a sense of betrayal.
December 26, 2013
Sfpl friends, owned,
The writing is pretty good, but the author is falling into the trap of assuming a reader has read the entire series and not giving basic explanations of some things. For example, 100 pages in we have physical descriptions of exactly two characters - the protagonist (because another character mentioned some physical traits in dialogue) and a character that was first introduced in this book. It's very possible that the author just doesn't think about such descriptions in general, which would also be annoying to me.
I'm also not feeling much connection with either the characters out the plot. I'm betting I won't finish the book. If I wanted thus style of adventure I could go re read the second Percy Jackson series.
The writing is pretty good, but the author is falling into the trap of assuming a reader has read the entire series and not giving basic explanations of some things. For example, 100 pages in we have physical descriptions of exactly two characters - the protagonist (because another character mentioned some physical traits in dialogue) and a character that was first introduced in this book. It's very possible that the author just doesn't think about such descriptions in general, which would also be annoying to me.
I'm also not feeling much connection with either the characters out the plot. I'm betting I won't finish the book. If I wanted thus style of adventure I could go re read the second Percy Jackson series.
August 3, 2014
I really liked this book, even more than its predecessors. By now I'm used to the over described elements, and the plot and characters are very appealing. There aren't a lot of books that show what it would have been like to be in Paris at the time of the amazing invasion, and it did this really well, I thought. Very upset to learn publisher Delacorte won't commit to finishing off the series. Only one more book left, but if they are unwilling, I don't know why agent Jim McCarthy and author Laurie don't take their rights on the road!
June 18, 2013
Oh my gosh, YES! Fans of Rick Riordan, you will not be disappointed in this series. I haven't been this reluctant to put a book down since... forever! I can't wait for the next installment!
Edit:
I just learned the author is not planning on continuing this series. I'm really sad that I will not see any more of the Secret Keeper's adventures. I hope Laurie, in the future, finds it in her heart to continue the story for the many fans of this excellent series.
Edit:
I just learned the author is not planning on continuing this series. I'm really sad that I will not see any more of the Secret Keeper's adventures. I hope Laurie, in the future, finds it in her heart to continue the story for the many fans of this excellent series.
April 20, 2012
Third in the Oracles of Delphi Keep series. Ian, Theo, Carl and others continue to try to follow the scroll prophecies left for them by Laodamia. They visit Paris just as the German soldiers take the city. They visit Germany through the portal. They must find the Thinker.
Ian wonders who his parents are and clarity comes by the end of the book.
Ian wonders who his parents are and clarity comes by the end of the book.
February 29, 2012
Good book, plenty of action and adventure. This is Book 3 in the Oracles of Delphi Keep series. I would have given it 4 stars but I got lost in places--I'd read Book 1 last year, hadn't read Book 2, and clearly missed large portions of the plot by not reading that one.
Good for boys about 4th grade and up who are good readers, but I would recommend reading the series in order.
Good for boys about 4th grade and up who are good readers, but I would recommend reading the series in order.
February 28, 2015
Really loving this series! I wasn't super sold after the first one due to the books foray into historical events because history isn't my thing but I have to say they have turned out to be delightful! I would absolutely recommend this series to anyone who likes a fun adventure.
December 19, 2015
Good book
I liked this book because it was very inspiring and it shows a different way to look at the world. I chose a 5/5 rating because it was a very good book. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves an adventure
I liked this book because it was very inspiring and it shows a different way to look at the world. I chose a 5/5 rating because it was a very good book. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves an adventure
April 9, 2016
It was rather thrilling, the kid found out who his parents where. He was with them at their final seconds... very dramatic.
July 27, 2013
I loved this book. I've loved the series. I am SO disappointed that the publisher/author/whoever has decided not to do the last book in the series. I'll be left hanging forever.
September 20, 2012
Love this series. Can't wait for book #4
May 21, 2012
I thought this was the best of the three.
July 15, 2012
It was good...
January 5, 2013
Nice continuation of the series. V. Laurie doesn't disappoint.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 49 reviews