The Horror of Dunwick Farm - Dan Smith

You all know that I'm a huge fan of Dan's books and when he began writing this series for Barrington Stoke, I was thrilled as I knew it meant that a whole new  band of children would be able to access his stories.

The Horror of Dunwick Farm is the third book in the series (although it could easily be read as a stand alone) and Nancy, Pete and Krish find themselves at the centre of another mystery.  They're at school when the noise of a loud engine spluttering over the building disturbs everyone.  Naturally, the class rushes to the window to see what it is but they can't locate the source; however, the tremendous crash that rattles the school moments later tells everybody that something big has happened.  News quickly spreads that a plane has crashed and everyone rushes to the scene; however, when they get there, barriers have already been erected and security is in place.  It's Krish who announces that they will be able to see the site of the accident from his house on the other side of the woods so the three friends race to Dunwick Farm where they find the perfect spot from which to observe the incident.  It isn't long after the crash that things start taking a sinister turn: people falling ill and animals behaving in unusual ways, and Nancy, Pete and Krish think it's down to something from the plane.  But can they discover exactly what is happening and will they be able to save the village of Crooked Oak in time?

Ok, I'm just going to say from the start that The Horror of Dunwick Farm was most definitely the scariest of the Crooked Oak series so far!  I made the mistake of reading it after dark and, even though I had a teddy and plenty of cushions to hug and hide behind, I still found myself having to be braver than I thought I would have to be!  (In fact, at one point, my son wanted to know exactly what I was whimpering about!)  The farm setting, with its out-buildings makes the perfect setting and helps to build the atmosphere and the tension.

I also enjoyed being back with Nacy, Krish and Pete and seeing them work together again to get to the bottom of the mystery.  With each book, I see a little more in their friendship and I enjoy this development.

With superb illustrations from Chris King enhancing the story, this is a fast-paced, seriously scary book that I know will be snapped up in school on Monday morning when I take it in - I just hope the class are braver than me!