The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane - Julia Nobel

Written by Julia Nobel
Read by Saskia Maarleveld
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Black Hollow Lane Series, Book 1
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC
Release date: March 5, 2019
Duration: 05:38:32

Emmy’s dad disappeared years ago, and with her mother too busy to parent, she’s shipped off to Wellsworth, a prestigious boarding school in England. But right before she leaves, a mysterious box arrives full of medallions and a note reading: These belonged to your father.

Just as she’s settling into life at Wellsworth, Emmy begins to find the strange symbols from the medallions etched into the walls and stumbles upon the school’s super-secret society, The Order of Black Hollow Lane. As Emmy and her friends delve deeper into the mysteries of The Order, she can’t help but wonder—did this secret society have something to do with her dad’s disappearance?

A young reader’s review…This middle-grade debut novel really caught my attention from the very beginning. I tend to really enjoy books set in boarding schools and this one was no exception. I haven’t read such a thrilling and exciting mystery novel in a while and because it’s middle-grade, there weren’t many distractions (e.g. love interests) from the main plot like it is often the case with YA or adult mysteries. I also loved Emmy and her friends a lot, their friendship was a bit too instantaneous but I loved their banter and relationship overall nonetheless. There was a small historical aspect to the story as well, concerning the school building and the whole mystery plot, which added a nice touch to the book. The only small problems I had were a few tropes, like absent and neglectful parents and the horrible roommate, which irked me quite a bit but they weren’t prominent enough to make my reading experience less enjoyable.

I would really recommend to check out this book even if you don’t like middle-grade because the mystery, in my opinion, is worth it.