Grimstone's Ghost

Grimstone's Ghost by Mary Arrigan. Twelve year old Cian O'Horgan arrives with his mother and sister Jo at the great, dark, depressing mansion that he has inherited from his great uncle, Cian O'Horgan.

Grimstone's Ghost
By Mary Arrigan.
Collins €5.75

Twelve year old Cian O'Horgan arrives with his mother and sister Jo at the great, dark, depressing mansion that he has inherited from his great uncle, Cian O'Horgan.

The weather is terrible. The atmosphere redolent from whispers from the past as Mrs Barry, the faithful family retainer, tells our hero of mysterious goings-on involving a blue light in the shrubbery, an unfinished manuscript and the fact that many a previous Cian O' Horgan has died on the night of 19 July. The stage is set for a classic tale of the haunted house. The two children find themselves alone in its forbidding interior and involved in a desperate search for the Dual Deity Chalice which must be buried in the grave of Bishop Cian O'Horgan, who was murdered by Captain Grimstone during the reign of Henry VIII.

With its linking of a pagan past with Christian symbols, and the utter ruthlessness of Captain Grimstone, whose ghost continues to search for the chalice, this book takes us on a rollercoaster of action and terror as the night of 19 July draws near.

It's a real page turner – incident is piled on incident and everything is affected by the evil mission of Grimstone's Ghost.

Ideal summer reading for non-nervous 10 to 12 year olds.