Miss Penny Dreadful & the malicious maze by Allison Rushby

The second in this highly readable and engaging series of mystery stories centring on the wonderful Penny Pickering will catch readers who crave something more, casting aside the mountain of rosy pink BFF stories that have crowded shelves of late. Penny is a feisty, single minded girl, taken out of boarding school by her equally headstrong mystery writer aunt, to solve puzzles that come across their path.

When Penny visits her missing parent’s apartment and finds their laboratory turned upside down she knows something is wrong. A postcard from Switzerland does not allay her fears, but when Aunt Harriet is asked to solve the mystery of the malicious maze, this takes priority.

They immediately go to the house in Surrey, Harewood Hall, and instead of announcing themselves at the door, they go instead to the towering maze. No sooner do they step inside the maze, that Aunt Harriet disappears, leaving Penny all alone. But Sir Fothergill suddenly appears. Harriet and Penny follow him to the hat room, where Penny finds a maid’s hat with an article from the paper tucked inside its brim. The story concerns the missing servants, but when Penny tries to get some answers, she is forestalled. Only a talk to the stableboy Tom, allows her to feel she is getting somewhere, and donning his clothes goes to the village to seek answers.

But a second postcard has appeared from her parents, given over by the inscrutable Mr Crowley who has arrived without warning. Penny is always suspicious of his motives and the postcard adds to her concerns.

A stunning mix of mystery and suspense, the tale of Penny Pickering and the maze will delight mid and upper primary readers.

The first in the series, Miss Penny Dreadful and the midnight kittens (2022) is a wonderfully entertaining introduction to the stories about Penny, and her adventures are continued in Miss Penny Dreadful and the mermaid’s tale (2024)

An author’s note at the end of this story details the fascinating role of the Penny Dreadful in Victorian literature.

Themes: Adventure, Mystery, Series Miss Penny Dreadful, Mazes, Humour.

Fran Knight