While on holiday by the sea, Mike, Peggy, Nora and their friend Jack go exploring in the caves on the beach. They soon discover a secret passage that leads to the Old House on the cliff, where they find a kidnapped young prince is being held captive! The friends make a bold plan to help the Prince escape - but will it succeed?
My Review:
It's the school holidays and the four children are ready for another adventure. With their parents away in Ireland on a lecture tour, Mike, Peggy, Nora and Jack are sent to the beach at Spiggy Holes in Cornwall, under the supervision of Miss Dimity. They are looking forward to sailing, swimming near the beach and exploring the caves where smugglers were said to come ashore in days long gone. There is also the abandoned mansion beside their smaller house which has a big garden to explore. It's shaping up to be an interesting summer.
The children decide to go to the big house and are startled to find it has unpleasant new owners who chase and threaten them, and install guard dogs to keep them out. The behaviour of the new people arouse suspicions especially when they hear that they have tried to buy Dimmy's house and were very angry at being turned down. They also try to buy the one boat in the area belonging to local man George who also refuses to sell. Could it be that these new people are modern day smugglers who want control of both houses and the boat to secretly transport something that they don't want anyone to know about? Why is the woman from the house questioning the children about what they do and where they go?
The four of them decide to keep watch day and night to look for any suspicious activity at the big house and finally they are rewarded when they see a signal going out to see. Rushing to hide in one of the caves, the children see the smugglers disappearing into a cave but not coming out. Could therebe a secret passage from the caves up to the big house, unused since the old days of smuggling? Dare they look in the cave and maybe follow a secret passage? And who is the boy that is locked in the tower room? Is there any way they could rescue him from his captors? How can they get past either the dogs or the locked tower doors?
I always enjoyed this kind of adventure in the books I read as a kid and the Secret series still delivers a good yarn even all these years later. I'm always amused by the way the kids never tell an adult what is going on and instead decide to solve the mystery themselves, getting into all kinds of trouble in the process. Adults and the police are rarely seeen as a good option to go for! But this book does it a little differently and the children reach a stage where they are going to have to confide in Dimmy and George and get their help with a plan. I actually liked seeing the kids and adults working together to try and reach the prisoner in the tower.
This was an enjoyable kids book that ramped up the adventure and tension elements that are always in this kind of book. I was actually pleased to find that I enjoyed this book as much now as I did at the time and I'll certainly be reading the rest of the series.
Read July 2020
3 stars.
That sounds interesting. Not sure if it's the right one for me though.
ReplyDeleteI think that's true of most kids books. There are plenty that won't appeal to me. I think I'm liking these because I read them as a kid...happy carefree days and all that!
DeleteHmm, I don't think I read any from this series... Man, it's amazing how many books Enid Blyton put out!
ReplyDeleteIt's scary to think about! My dad was a big fan of John Creasey and he wrote a ton too!
DeleteThis one does sound like a lot of fun! :)
ReplyDeleteSmugglers and meddling kids are always a good mix!
Delete