Midwinter Nightingale

Dido and Simon are in danger in this new addition to the Wolves Chronicles. Dido, back in England from America, is almost instantly kidnapped and taken to a derelict mansion surrounded by a deadly moat. The evil baron residing there, who is also a werewolf, wants desperately to know where King Dick is hidden. For the king is dying, and the evil baron wants to put his own demented son on the throne. Meanwhile Simon is with the ailing king. Not only does King Dick want Simon to paint a portrait of him and his family, but Simon is also next in line for the throne. However, they do need to find the coronet for the ceremony that will crown Simon. Though the coronet is rumored to be in the derelict mansion where Dido is imprisoned, no one can find it. Its one cliffhanging, hair-raising chapter after another in this tongue-in-cheek, devilishly delicious adventure.

From the Hardcover edition.

"Sorrow and a magnificent bleakness suffuse this excellent addition to the saga begun with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. On his deathbed, England's widowed, games-loving King Richard is in hiding, tended by an elderly cousin and Simon, duke of Battersea. Because Richard has no surviving children, there are many with competing claims to England's crown. Among these are the werewolf Baron Magnus Rudh, and his son, the despicable Lot, who kidnap Simon's good friend, the mettlesome Dido Twite, hoping she can lead them to the king. Meanwhile, Rudh's estranged daughter, Jorinda — a first-class flibbertigibbet — has set her cap for Simon. Even more so than in earlier novels, Aiken's villains mean business: The author underscores the dangers of Dido's plight with scenes of utterly chilling cruelty — first one character (physically depleted from having been imprisoned in a small box for an unknown length of time) is casually tossed into a moat filled with man-eating fish, and then, just a few scenes later, another character is gunned down as he attempts to cross the moat on stilts. Playful, urgent and wildly inventive, Aiken's language is always potent. Readers with a taste for mystery and complexity will find much to savor. Ages 10-up." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Joan Aiken is the author of over 100 books for children and adults.

From the Hardcover Library Binding edition.