Published by The O’Brien Press, 2024.

As a child, I loved boarding school stories. I devoured the Malory Towers and St Clare’s series. The Tower Ghost, the first book in the Sycamore Hill Mystery series, is wonderfully nostalgic but with modern sensibilities. There’s everything you’d expect from a boarding school story: midnight feasts, dormitories, mean girls, tuck boxes, hockey games, fierce friendships… These are strong girls: bright, brave and resourceful. They are more than capable of solving this mystery on their own.

Clare is excited to start her first term at Sycamore Hill. New sports, new subjects, and new friends – chatty, confident Rose and quiet, nature-loving Molly. But something strange is going on. The girls see a face at the North Tower window and hear the sound of crying – could the school be haunted? And does it have anything to do with the mysterious death of a pupil years earlier? No one seems to want to answer their questions, but Clare and her friends are determined to investigate. Can they solve the mystery before a killer strikes again?

The detail of boarding school life is rich and immersive. You can really imagine exploring the school grounds, being there in the dormitories at lights out, and having lessons with the nuns. There’s much sneaking about by torchlight and venturing into parts of the school that are strictly out of bounds.

I loved the dramatic coastal setting with the castle-like school perched on a cliff top, waves crashing below. I enjoyed the 1960s references too: the fashions, the hairstyles, music, and film stars. There’s also a welcome nod to equal rights and feminism; I loved how Clare questions the practice of women giving up their career once they got married.

The story is suspenseful and exciting. We piece together clues alongside the girls and put our skills to the test as amateur detectives. There are strong themes of friendship, and the Irish setting is wild and beautiful.

The Tower Ghost is immensely enjoyable and a real page-turner. Highly recommended.

Rating: 💙💙💙💙

Thank you to The O’Brien Press for sending me this book to review.