Mortlock by Jon Mayhew

ISBN 978 1 4088 0392 9 Bloomsbury This is fast-paced fantasy story with a good deal of darkness in it. Death may not be the end as the sub-title suggests. The plot cracks along with a few convincing things happening on every page yet it avoids any form of silliness. There are some breath-taking moments as Josie and Alfie find out more and more about their shared past. This is certainly a page-turner. The edition I read is a hard-back so the book feels the right weight. There is something beautifully tactile about it. Its black and green cover has aggressive red lettering and a spooky hand comes up out of the ground. The pages are edged with black and this blackness spills on to the pages, giving it a real gothic atmosphere. Mortlock is a well-structured story. The ending is satisfying. All of the characters are well drawn. This book will suit the fluent middle-grader reader and the early teen. It’s quite good for adults to read also. As I found out.