The Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson - ADVISABLE

The Secrets of Winterhouse (Winterhouse #2) by Ben Guterson, 371 pages. Henry Holt (Macmillan), 2019. $17.

Content: G (mild danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Not only is Elizabeth back at Winterhouse again for Christmas, but this time her grandfather tells her that she is remaining for good – he has finally become her official guardian.  All of her friends from last Christmas are also back, but there are also some new creepy people.  Not just Rodney and his parents, the aggravating trio from the bus, but also Elana Vesper, who seems to be interested in Freddy, and her grandmother. There’s a new puzzle to be solved – the old Winterhouse seal has been exposed after years of being hidden under a carpet.  As she and Freddy try to unravel the puzzle, Elizabeth also worries whether her old nemesis, Gracella, is actually dead, and about the ulterior motives of the new guests.

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

While the mystery is slightly different and there are a couple of new characters, the ultimate villain is still the same in book #2, which makes this a bit boring.  The puzzle is interesting enough to not even need a villain.  It looks like there will probably be another book in the series – let’s hope for a totally different type of adventure/antagonist. And now that Elizabeth is living there full time are we still going to have to wait until Christmas again so that the same characters can return?

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS