Danny Gunn, The Haunting of Gordon’s Lake, Danny Gunn, November 2022, 220 pp., RRP $20.00 (pbk), ISBN 9780645547146
When 12 year old Brad is told he must stay with his strange extended family at Gordon’s Lake, he isn’t exactly… thrilled. Bribed with the promise of swimming, fishing and mini-golf, Brad reluctantly stays with his Aunt, Uncle and older cousin Jason hoping to make friends and play footy.
Brad is soon disappointed when the only friends he manages to make play pranks on him endlessly, led on by Jason through taunts of a creepy, deserted warehouse.
However, this isn’t the only thing giving him the chills… his new, weird friends seem to keep disappearing, and there is a strange incessant whispering that seems to follow him around. And why are his Aunty and Uncle eerily uninvolved and antisocial towards the other campers?
Brad soon discovers that there are more secrets than meets the eye.
Overall, The Haunting of Gordan’s Lake and the Van Dieman’s Valley series provides an excellent introduction to horror for a younger audience. The language throughout is well suited and easy to follow, while adding components that can engage younger readers- such as the inclusion of Brad’s passion for AFL. There were some gory parts that seemed out of place for the target middle audience, however this is understandable considering the nature of the book and its horror themes.
There was also a bit of confusion around the final plot twist, as the events happen in quite quick succession, but this increases engagement in the final events leading up to the end. The book ends on an extraordinary cliff hanger, providing an excellent beginning to the next instalment of the Van Diemen’s Valley series.
Reviewed by Emily Woolnough