I suspect many readers who grew up in the 80s/90s may, like me, have very found memories of devouring series after series of boarding school books. There was something so addictive about the heady combination of grand schoolhouses, midnight feasts, and schoolgirl sleuths!

When I saw that Malory Towers was being reimagined by Fleur Hitchcock (a most excellent middle grade writer), I just knew that I had to read it. Luckily, a proof of the first new mystery dropped through my letter box just in time for me to bring on holiday.

“New girl Emma can’t wait to meet her classmates and explore the famous Malory Towers. Together with her new-found friends Sheila and Marie she quickly settles into school life, but soon there are big questions to be answered . . . Where does their classmate keep disappearing to? Why were the horses let out of the stable? And who are the strangers on the clifftop?

Only the Malory Towers Mystery Club can solve this puzzle!”

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This title is the first in a new series of Malory Towers mysteries, inspired by Enid Blyton’s classic boarding school series. I can see it being just as popular with readers as the original books.

Central to any good boarding school adventure is the cast of characters you’re going to be following. Readers need to be able to find themselves among them and identify with some of the dilemmas they face. Fleur Hitchcock has managed to incorporate a diverse range of boarders into the mix, all with different skills and personality traits, for readers to get to know.

There is enough peril and intrigue to hook readers in (it starts with new boarder Emma’s car being run off the road!) before a mystery reveals itself and the girls get to work. I could just picture myself creeping through darkened corridors and sneaking to the stables with them!

Capturing all the nostalgic charm of Enid Blyton’s classic with a fresh, modern twist, this thrilling mystery will have a new generation of readers sneaking down dark corridors right alongside its irresistible cast. A must-read start to an unforgettable new boarding school series!

Jo.

*Many thanks to Hachette Children’s Books for sending me this title to review*