Book #20: Mystery at Witchend by Malcolm Saville
Mystery at Witchend by Malcolm Saville
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the first in Malcolm Saville's "Lone Pine" series, and is in a similar spirit to Enid Blyton's Famous Five series, in that it revolves around children who are on holiday.
So, at the start the central characters travel to the eponymous Witchend, in Shropshire, where their adventure starts. About half of the book seems to be about how they form the group, so the main plot is quite simple.
It mostly involves the mysterious and sinister Mrs. Thurston, and several parachutists who show up in the nearby countryside. Considering that this was written in 1943 during World War II, it is easy to guess that they are going to turn out to be German soldiers.
I enjoyed this a lot, mostly guessing what Mrs. Thurston was up to (she seemed almost like Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), and the intentions of the mysterious parachutists. Some of the most dramatic chapters took place after Mrs. Thurston seemingly took two of the children hostage in her house by forcing them to stay the night. The final chapter was mostly exposition, but it was very easy to follow.
I read this because I'm going to Shropshire later in the year, and I'm keen to read more books in this series.
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