Triskellion by Will Peterson

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Walker Books, 2008
(Age 11+) Surprisingly Will Peterson is the pseudonym of Mark Billingham and Peter Cocks, both writers for television in England. They have collaborated on a number of projects and decided to write a trilogy for children, which took inspiration from their interests in history, science fiction and crime. Triskellion is the first title in the mystery series.

At the time of a difficult divorce in America, twins Rachel and Adam are sent to England by their mother to stay with their grandmother. A mysterious force seems to have taken over the village and the children cannot feel at home here. They share a heightened sense of foreboding for the place and are soon caught up in strange happenings. When a television crew comes to the village to investigate a Bronze Age archaeological find, the children, along with the help of a strange outsider, discover a hidden but sinister secret which shrouds the village and seems connected in some way to their mother's family.

Imaginatively told, Triskellion is an action packed story with plenty of interesting, though often volatile, characters.There is a dream-like quality to Gabriel the young boy who seems to belong to another world. Other characters seem possessed and driven to violence. Unexplained phenomena haunt some mysterious places.

As with many such adventures the young protagonists seem too often left to their own devices, but this makes for a great read!
Julie Wells

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