Edie and her younger brother Pip are heading to spend their October half-term with their grandmother, Lolly, in her remote cottage, Fortune Farm, in the Irish mountains. Eddie really isn't looking forward to it, especially as she fears it will bring back memories of her dead father. However, once she is there she discovers that there is more to the place than she remembered and her curiosity leads her to the search for long-lost Viking treasure. This is a search that could turn dangerous and could uncover more than Edie ever expected.
When The Haunting of Fortune Farm arrived, I was excited by the blurb as well as the fact that I have loved Sophie's previous books. Then when other bloggers told me how good the book was, I grew even more excited; however, I also knew that it would be a book I'd be unable to put down so I waited until I was on holiday so I could give it my full attention. Now I admit that sitting in glorious sunshine on the beach in Biarritz probably isn't the atmospheric setting this book deserves, but within a few chapters, I knew I'd been right to wait: I just couldn't put the book down!
Edie is a wonderful character who is obviously doing everything she can to stay strong in the wake of her father's death. She feels she needs to watch over her mum as well as her younger brother so bottles up her own memories and emotions as a result. Spending time at Fortune Farm (somewhere she hasn't been since she was very young) is obviously tough, especially as Lolly appears to be somewhat distant.
What unfolds is a mysterious and spooky quest to put the past to rest in more ways than one. With a menacing and vengeful Viking chief to contend with, as well as the dangers of the Forbidden Sleuth Wood, it's only Edie's new friend Coco that seems to be able to help.
The Haunting of Fortune Farm is a wonderfully told story about finding your memories and coming to terms with loss (I can imagine that many children in a similar situation to Edie would feel the same way about being strong for those around them so this book is an important one to show them they aren't alone).
With a sinister plot, the book definitely has that 'just one more chapter' lure to it that makes it an unputdownable read, and the poems between chapters create curiosity (I loved them). Publishing on the 26th September, The Haunting of Fortune Farm is going to make a perfect autumn read (where the weather will be much more suited to conjuring up the perfect atmosphere!)
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