Title: The Moonlight Statue
Author: Holly Webb
Illustrator: Jason Cockcroft
Series: The Hounds of Penhallow Hall
Ages: 8+
Available: 9th Feb
For Polly, moving to Penhallow Hall is the fresh start she’s been longing for since the death of her father. Her mum has got a job managing the stately home and once the last of the visitors leave for the day the place is all theirs!
One night, Polly sleepwalks into the garden and wakes to find her hand on the head of one of the stone dogs that guard the steps down to the lawn. Then she feels him lick her cheek! The dog introduces himself as Rex, an Irish Wolfhound who lived at Penhallow many hundreds of years earlier.
And he is not the only resident ghost – Polly has also glimpsed a strange boy around the place. With Rex’s help she finds herself unravelling the story of his beloved master, William Penhallow, who was killed in the First World War aged only 17.
Source: ARC from Stripes Publishing via NetGalley
This is a another fun story from Holly Webb, mixing a bit of loneliness, a new start and some ghostly goings on in a stately home in Cornwall. It’s perfect for animal lovers, particularly young girls, and the illustrations of Jason Cockcroft provide lovely pictures for less confident readers to encourage them along.
Polly is lonely. She’s lost her dad, her mum’s always busy and she has no friends. She does like living in Cornwall, she just wishes she had someone to explore with. And then she wakes up Rex and suddenly life is far more interesting, with ghosts and mysteries and a little hint of adventure. There’s also a glimpse of more to come from this series, since this house is full of all kinds of other dogs, hopefully waiting to also be woken up.
If you’re the type of reader (or have someone in mind) who loves action and adventure, this book might not be exciting enough for them. There is a bit of peril towards the end, but mostly it’s about Polly feeling alone in a new place. But if you like dogs and are interested in ghosts and a little bit of mystery, then this could well be for you. I found it an easy, enjoyable read that animal mad younger me would have devoured eagerly. I look forward to seeing where the series heads next.
The Moonlight Statue is out February 9th.
Visit Holly Webb for more details.
