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I do dearly love a good book for young readers. The innocence between the ages of 9 and 12 draws me in, along with the curiosity of the characters and the innocuous suspense and intrigue—and Paul Bajoria brings out all this and more in The God of Mischief.
Thirteen-year-old twins Imogen (Mog) and Dominic (Nick) Winter live near London under the guardianship of Sir Septimus Cloy at Knivesacres Hall. Beneath the watchful eye of two servants, Bonefinger and Melibee, they explore the Cloy mansion with its many forbidden rooms, towers, secret passages, and staircases that lead nowhere. Though they seem to have it pretty good, Sir Septimus is far from a loving substitute parent, and Bonefinger can be downright cruel.
Sinister things began to happen—Mog and Nick are almost struck down by a falling gargoyle, Bonefinger buries a body, and their governess is found hanged in her room. A mysterious person from their past has shown up again, sending the villagers into a frenzy of rumors and dislike for the young twins. A curse hangs over the Cloy mansion, and old documents point toward dark secrets in the Cloy family. The truth must be uncovered before the twins meet an untimely fate.
Though The God of Mischief is the sequel to The Printer’s Devil, the author does a great job of keeping you from becoming confused by past events in the twins’ lives. Paul Bajoria expertly weaves in just enough of the twins’ earlier actions to keep you informed without slowing down the story. I still want to go back and read The Printer’s Devil for my own pleasure, but it’s not necessary for understanding The God of Mischief.
The only thing that irritated me about this novel was the way Sir Septimus spoke. He has a habit of mumbling, and most of his words start or end with the letter m, which makes it hard to understand—and it yanked me right out of the story. Thank goodness there wasn’t a lot of dialogue involving this character! Otherwise, though, I found myself totally engaged in the mystery and intrigue of the Cloy mansion.
The God of Mischief is a little bit A Series of Unfortunate Events with just a splash of Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. Since Harry Potter is a thing of the past, I’ve found my new favorite young adult series. I definitely look forward to seeing Mog and Nick in future adventures.
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