The hunting moon by Susan Dennard

In the sequel to The Luminaries Winnie Wednesday’s life has changed. She is no longer ostracised by the Hemlock Falls community after passing the hunter trials and becomes an overnight celebrity – ‘The girl who jumped. The girl who got bitten.’ But Winnie is not comfortable; no one believes that it is the Whisperer who is attacking the hunters and are blaming the werewolf that she knows rescued her in the forest. And she is having problems following the strange clues that her father has left her about the Dianas and the fact that he was framed as a traitor. Jay Friday seems reluctant to help her, and she must work out where her loyalty lies – with the Luminaries or with what she believes.

The hunting moon starts out slowly with Winnie trying to come to grips with being a local celebrity. She is invited to parties and has a drink named after her but finds it difficult when she can remember the times when no one would talk to her. Jay seems distant and grief stricken but eventually helps Winnie in her pursuit of the clues that her father has left her.

Once the action takes over, The hunting moon becomes more difficult to put down, as Winnie and Jay uncover deadly secrets in the forest and face great danger from the many monsters (beautifully illustrated throughout the book) that they encounter. The romance between Winnie and Jay continues to simmer, with each getting to understand the other’s thoughts and feelings.

Short chapters encourage the reader to continue with the story and the enigmatic ending will be intriguing enough for fans to continue with the series.

Themes: Fantasy, Monsters, Werewolves, Secret societies, Murder, Mythical creatures.

Pat Pledger