Kate Gordon, The Haunting of Hindmarsh Hall (The Secret Detectives Club #1), Riveted Press, April 2025. 144 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780645869385
Rocko and Cosmo are usually the only two to join the many clubs they establish. Rocko worries about being ‘uncool’, especially as his sister is the coolest kid in town. The town they live in, Table Cape Bay, is quiet and a place where nothing ever happens – or so they think. When the boys form their latest club, a Scrabble Club, they find this is not quite true. Overhearing them talk is well-known author, P.D. Watkins who tells them about the mysterious hauntings happening at Hindmarsh Hall where he is on a writer’s retreat. The two boys, joined by the second coolest kid in town, Mingus Reid and form the Secret Detectives Club, determined to solve this mystery. In doing so, they find their author hero, Watkins, is not quite what he seems and that ghosts may also not be quite what they first appear to be. In the process, they all learn a lot about themselves and make new friends too.
Some of the characters are a little exaggerated – Rocko’s mother’s artistic eccentricity, for example – but somehow, they are all quite convincing. The interactions between the young detectives are also realistic – Cosmo is clearly jealous of Mingus joining them and there is friction between the two. Rocko tries to be the peacemaker. Cosmo is particularly sensitive as he was bullied at the last school that his mother moved him. His self-esteem is low and he relies heavily on his sister even though she constantly tries to show him how well he can do things himself. He is actually a natural leader but doesn’t yet recognise it in himself. And what roles do the girls play in all the mystery? Their characters are as important as any, even though they seem reluctant to take part in the Detectives Club.
Readers will identify with the young characters, enjoy solving the mystery and be pleased that the rather untrustworthy P.D. Watkins gets his comeuppance.
The book is set up for another adventure of The Secret Detectives Club. I’m sure any to follow will be enjoyed just as much as this one, by all younger readers who enjoy a mystery story.
Reviewed by Margot Hillel
