Тайната на среднощния призрак

Adventure Island #2

by Helen Moss

Скот и Джак никак не са щастливи, че трябва да прекарат лятната ваканция в Касъл Кий – малко селце на брега на океана. Но след като двамата братя срещат Емили и кучето й Дрифт, всичко се променя. Май това лято ще е най-интересното в живота им!

Светлини, камера, начало! Но Савана Шоу – известната филмова звезда, която играе главната роля, не се появява за снимките. Няма я никъде и из имението „Педрагон”, където се снима филмът. Говори се, че в него броди призракът на вещицата Сара Гудуел. Възможно ли е това да е причината за изчезването на Савана Шоу?

Скот, Джак и Емили са решени на всяка цена да разберат какво става.

Genres: Mystery, Adventure, Childrens, Middle Grade

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2011

Reviews

[Петър Панчев · Rating 5 out of 5]

Филмовият проект
(Цялото ревю е тук: https://knijenpetar.wordpress.com/202...)

След пълното удовлетворение от първата книга, реших да продължа веднага с поредицата. Оказа се, че Хелън Мос има голям респект към младите си читатели и е „завързала“ доста стабилен сюжет, богат на ситуации, мисловни загадки и почти реалистични криминални случаи. Дори аз се запалих достатъчно и с удоволствие ще проследя всичко случващо се в живота на Скот, Джак и Емили. Това ми напомня на класическите приключенски романи, които в един момент се превръщат в детски, въпреки сложната си постройка и често страховити сцени. В „Островът на приключенията“ те не са чак толкова много, но пък място за мислене наистина има. Харесва ми мащаба и участието на възрастни герои, които не се лигавят толкова, за да смекчат нещата заради аудиторията си. Определено става все по-интересно. В „Тайната на среднощния призрак“ („Фют“, 2016, с превод на Елмира Цветанова Великова) дори има повече хумор, забавни ситуации и традиционни младежки закачки, все пак в компанията са двама братя с по година разлика и едно доста бойко момиче, което също си има своите слабости. Нека сега да видим за какво иде реч във второто приключение.
(Продължава в блога: https://knijenpetar.wordpress.com/202...)

[Charlie]

great and mysterious

[Aimee Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is one of 5 other titles under the collection of 'Adventure Island books' written by Helen Moss. Published in 2011, these books are modern and relevant to the lives of young people now who will be able to engage with story and characters involved. In 'The Mystery of Midnight Ghost' four friends called Scott, Jack, Emily and Drift the dog find themselves solving another mystery after movie star Savannah Shaw goes missing during filming at Pendragon Manor. The search is on to find the stars kidnapper: mysterious and unexplainable happenings make the journey creepy yet intriguing. This story is imaginative and elaborate and will be perfect for detective story lovers for children in Key Stage 2.

Age range: 8-10

[Farseer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second in a series of children's mysteries in the style of Enid Blyton, only written much more recently. I enjoyed it, although not quite as much as Blyton's work. To be fair, I have to admit I prefer Blyton's adventure novels to her mystery novels, just as a matter of taste, and this is more in the style of her mysteries.

These are readable and not bad at all. One thing I like about them is that there's banter between the children, and they are likable. The problem I had in book 1 with the boys' attitudes being too dismissive does not happen in this one. Perhaps the thing that bothers me about this series is that the plot moves in a very streamlined manner, with short chapters all moving the plot forward, resulting in a very short novel, and there's little time for the characters and the readers to enjoy the adventure a bit more, if that makes any sense. This really would benefit from being a little longer and letting the story and the characters room to breathe.

[Catherine Pinkett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It would have been amongst my favourites as a child as I loved adventure books. There are three friends Scott,Jack and Emily and of course a dog tagging along. I feel that all three show their own personalities throughout giving the reader a chance to join in with their adventures. If you love Scooby do adventures then this is certainly for you,whether you are the target age group or a grown up who loves being transported back to their childhood.
The writing has a modern updated feel to it,the pacing is good and the plot kept me guessing until nearly the end. Loved it.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable adventure for younger readers (although there's not much of a mystery to solve).

[Nishka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally interesting

[Melanie Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2. Another great read for my son and I. Laughing at Jack and hugging drift throughout the book. We never really knew what the ghost was going to be. Thank you

[Daniela]

Het mysterie van de nachtelijke schim

[Lily M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Една от по-интересните книжки от многото детективски романи за деца, които са наводнили пазара.

[Sandra Fabiyi]

❤❤❤❤

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow I got this whole series for £3.99 on my kindle I’ve really been getting bargains on my books lately

[Alexia Athanassiadou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting adventure story about three teenagers and their vacation time in a small village near the coast of England.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

We have a 'Children's Book of the Year' event in a couple of weeks time where the Children's book groups run throughout the local area all read 6 books and then meet up and vote for their favourite. It's a chance for children to meet other kids who love books and to have fun. The afternoon normally consists of games and sweets and discussions and an author talk. This year the guest is Helen Moss. Her book is not on our shortlist but the kids were asked to read at least one book from her series before the event. As I am attending the event too (I run a book group) I thought I should try to read one too. My boss told me it was 'a modern Enid Blyton style', but I've never actually read an Enid Blyton book (I've seen an episode of Famous Five on Disney though), so I didn't have much to go on.
The book is based on 3 kids and their dog. Emily who seems to be in charge and the brains behind the operation and then Scott and Jack who are brothers and Emily's best friends.
A famous film series is due another installment and it's going to be filmed at a local manor house, the kids get themselves known on set and end up hanging out with the stars, but then the main actress goes missing and they decide to solve the mystery. The old manor house is apparently haunted by the ghost of an angry witch and will kidnap anyone who ventures inside after midnight.
This book was very easy to read and took me just under an hour to read. It is full of adventure and mystery and I think kids would enjoy it. From the little I know about Blyton it did seem similar, but they are popular and kids seem to like a mystery, especially one solved by children. For me, it was very predictable, I wasn't surprised by anything and had pretty much figured it all out as soon as it was mentioned. Of course I have a lot more years of reading/life experience so children may not get it as quickly as I did and would probably enjoy discovering the result.
I would say if you had good readers aged 8-12 they would love this book, would be good for boys and girls and there is a bit of everything in there.
I'm looking forward to hearing the author speak and find out what got her into these books.
So for me, I score it an 'Average', but I think children will really enjoy it!

[Liz Neville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern day Enid Blyton - my 8-year old boys loved it and I enjoyed it a lot too. Humorous and compelling, and not too obvious in terms of plot progression. We finished it, and the kids insisted we get the next one in the series!

Means I don't have to reread Famous Five which although I loved as a child, now find very dated and often difficult to read out loud because of the awful gender stereotyping.

[Bart · Rating 3 out of 5]

actual rating: 3,5 stars

[El · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really exciting! Interesting twist to the plot at the end.

[Abbie Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emil, Scott and Jack also Drift go on another mission and its very interesting.