Skuduggery Pleasant: The haunted house on Hollow Hill by Derek Landy

This is a stand-alone story about Valkyrie and Skulduggery as they navigate a who-done-it murder mystery where ghosts and ancient spells are at play in a mansion set on Hollow Hill which is cut off from the rest of world by the traditionally terrible British weather. 

When they arrive at the “most haunted house in Britain” to interview the Dark King of television magic they instead discover the body of a murdered man and a killer who is taking out the visitors one by one. The two mysterious Irish Detectives, Skulduggery and Valkyrie, have only hours to figure out who is the killer in a hotel filled with tortured spirits!

The inclusion of the obscure facts that Skulduggery has collected made this fit in with the other books in the series while still sitting outside the typical world of Skulduggery Pleasant. 

Although this is a standalone novel, separate to the main series it is also a great introduction to the series for new readers and I think that this novel achieves a lightness that would engage younger readers who enjoy horror, murder mystery and a bit of humour. 

This story was unique in that you could read it without knowing the background and get a lot from it while also giving lovers of the series a short side story that allowed the characters to act differently than they do in the main series.  A excellent addition or start to the Skulduggery Pleasant universe.

Themes: Fantasy, Magic, Mystery, Crime, Supernatural.

Mhairi Alcorn