Our Chapter Book of the Week is the sequel to local super-talented author Nicki Thornton's exquisite "The Last Chance Hotel".
Seth is back! But this time is he the same happy-go-lucky lad?
After solving the mystery of the Last Chance Hotel, Seth is discovering his own magical abilities, and is destined to put them to the test solving a whole new MagiCon case, a mysterious set of oddities surrounding the remote location of the Snakesmouth Lighthouse.
Mina Mintencress, owner of the lighthouse, has been murdered - and soon Seth and his trusty cat Nightshade are once again embroiled in a dark and dangerous quest to uncover the identity of a dark sorcerer.
But will the lure of dark magic prove too much for Seth to resist and will it hamper his ambitions to become a proper MagiCon investigator one day?
Once again Nicki really pours on the tension and excitement, with a supporting cast of characters that we SWEAR she took furious notes on while running local Indie bookstore Mostly Books (yipes, I hope we dont end up in book 3!)
It's worth saying that the books are a series, so if you haven't read the first book, you should definitely catch up on that before diving into this one. That said, the first book's plot is nicely intertwined with this story, so all the characters are brought right up to date.
C and her Mum have been reading this one at bedtimes, absolutely absorbed in it and pushing all other books aside. So far there have been lots of interesting comments about Nightshade stealing every scene, and about Seth being "extremely bad!" So if that hasn't piqued your interest for this utterly brilliant sequel, nothing will!
Sum this book up in a sentence: A superb addition to the Seth Seppi mysteries, a second book that's filled with as much charm, magic and sinister goings on as the original, with a truly brilliant setting.
"The Bad Luck Lighthouse" by Nicki Thornton is out now, published by Chicken House Books (kindly supplied for review).