2014 Forest of Reading, Silver Birch Award — Shortlisted, Fiction
2014 Rocky Mountain Book Award — Shortlisted
Are those cranky old folks at the retirement home really what they seem?
Twelve-year-old Willa Fuller is convinced that the old folks in the shabby boarding house down the street are prisoners of their sinister landlady, Miss Trang. Only when Willa is hired on as housekeeper does she discover the truth, which is far more fascinating.
Eldritch Manor is a retirement home for some very strange beings indeed. All have stories to tell – and petty grievances with one another and the world at large.
Storm clouds are on the horizon, however, and when Miss Trang departs on urgent business, Willa is left to babysit the cantankerous bunch. Can she keep the oldsters in line, stitch up unravelling time, and repel an all-out attack from the forces of darkness … all while keeping the nosy neighbours out of their business and uncovering a startling secret about her own past?
Kim Thompson is a filmmaker and television writer who has written scripts for many well-known children’s cartoons. Eldritch Manor is her first novel. Kim has recently relocated from Toronto to Saltspring Island and is in great need of a household brownie, if you know of any.
With plenty of mystery from a Fuller family curse to an unseen cat that haunts the manor and mounting crises that force Willa to find her confidence. The fun and fast paced story buoyed by a smattering of humour rises to a climax as exciting as it is satisfying and well earned.
… a fast paced adventure story …