Rob Keeley is back with The Treasure in the Tower, his first standalone novel for middle graders following the success of his Spirits series. It's a fun, historical mystery based around a school residential trip, blending a treasure-hunting plot with a school story and a large amount of humour.
A school trip to historic Deanchester becomes more exciting when Jess and her friends discover the city hides a secret treasure. Local historian Dr Joseph Pyrite left a series of clues scattered around Deanchester's landmarks, which Jess, Mason and Kessie are determined to solve. But they only have three days. And they have competition. A series of increasingly cunning tricks awaits Jess and her party as they try to beat Perdita and Thomas to the treasure.
Here we have a novel with a rapid pace, a dollop of humour and a time slip... Good fun, many twists and turns, and with excellent period and political detail.Georgina Hawtrey-Woore Award judges on High Spirits. A pacy adventure, a central character put into extraordinary circumstances, time paradoxes to unravel, and evil villains who lose battles but persist with the war. Rob Keeley is continuing with his winning formula and middle grade readers will eat it up. Jill Murphy, The Bookbag on High Spirits.