Spirits of the Lake

by Beverley Dunlop

On the eve of his family's departure for a short summer holiday in the Urewera National Park, 12-year-old Paul Mapperley discovers a mysterious stained stone concealed in an old clock that once belonged to his grandparents. By removing the stone from the clock, Paul unwittingly triggers a bizarre and dramatic sequence of events. His family almost has a serious car accident, Paul's mother becomes inexplicably irritable and distracted, his young sister Lucy starts behaving strangely, and Paul begins to have vivid, disturbing dreams in which he seems to be an invisible witness to terrible incidents in the past. Or are they dreams?

135 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1988

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[Capn]

Full text, inside jacket:

On the eve of his family's departure for a short summer holiday in the Urewera National Park, 12-year-old Paul Mapperley discovers a mysterious stained stone concealed in an old clock that once belonged to his grandparents.
By removing the stone from the clock, Paul unwittingly triggers a bizzare(sic) and dramatic sequence of events. His family almost has a serious car accident, Paul's mother becomes inexplicably irritable and distracted, his young sister Lucy starts behaving strangely, and Paul begins to have vivid, disturbing dreams in which he seems to be an invisible witness to terrible incidents in the past. Or are they dreams?
And what is the significance of the stained stone? Of the mysterious death of Paul's grandmother? Of his mother's and sister's uncharacteristic behaviour? And what part in the whole puzzle is played by the lake near the motorcamp - Lake Waikaremoana?

SPIRITS OF THE LAKE is an engrossing, fast-paced historical thriller, an exciting mix of fantasy, myth, magic and reality. It is also a skilful evocation of the landscape and atmosphere of the wild interior of New Zealand's central North Island - the Urewera - of the mystical character of its people - the Tuhoe - and of the complex nature of a controversial period of New Zealand history.

Wikipedia: "Her fourth and final novel, Spirits of the Lake (1988), was about a young boy saving his mother and grandmother from ancient spirits, and was described by The Press as "different, thrilling, scary and thought provoking".[13][14]"

Queued - review to follow. Purchased from The Children's Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye.