Review: Her Perilous Mansion by Sean Williams

The latest middle grade novel from Australian author Sean Williams is full of spooky fun. Almanac and Etta are two kids who haven't had the best of luck. Almanac is an orphan and Etta is the youngest of twelve daughters. Neither have terribly great prospects in life, but when both are invited to work at a fabulous mansion, it seems that their luck is about to change. Then they arrive at the mansion and find that the estate and all of those within it are more than a little unusual. Could it be that the mansion has a curse on it? And if so, will Almanac and Etta be the ones to break it?

This was a lot of fun and a real ripper of a read. Although pitched at younger readers, this one is an ideal all-ages read. The character/world building is quite good--both the mansion and the curse were crafted in such a way that they felt very much like characters in their own right. The humour works very well, and I felt that there was a bit of a Terry Pratchett influence in there. 

Lots of fun. Highly recommended.

This book was read as part of the Aussie Author Challenge 2020.

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