3.5 stars rounded up. This book felt very old-fashioned to me, in a mostly good way. I probably would've liked when I was part of the target age group, but I can see how it might be a struggle/bore for some young readers. As an adult, I found the story interesting in a slow but cozy and festive way.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

A beautiful and magical Christmas fable which will appeal to middle grade readers and adults alike. In both tone and plot it reminded me somewhat of classic 19th century children’s books like The Secret Garden and The Little Princess. Highly recommended.

This was such a delightful story! The Secret of Helmersbruck Manor was originally written in Finnish for middle grade readers, but it was immensely enjoyable for this adult. It's one of those stories that reminds you why you fell in love with reading as a child.

Twelve-year-old Flora and her mother go to stay in the seaside village of Helmersbruck for Christmas. Flora discovers that the house where they are staying is part of a beautiful estate, including a mysterious fairytale manor that has not allowed anyone to enter for years. Strange occurrences and voices inspire her to solve the mystery of the estate and save it from developers.

I absolutely loved this book. It's filled with elements a young reader would love: a mysterious mansion with a library and turrets, a hedge labyrinth nobody has solved, rumors of a hidden treasure, friendly ghosts, and Christmas dreams come true. Highly recommended!

Thank you so much to Pushkin and NetGalley for this book to review!

A cute historical, lightly fantastical mystery around Christmas time about a girl trying to figure out why an abandoned manor house has been acting a bit strangely. I'm not a big Christmas person so I was pleasantly surprised that it isn't really the main focus.

CW: bullying, death of a parent due to illness, deaths due to a car crash

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance copy.

Thank you to Eva Frantz, Pushkin Press and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a wonderful cozy atmospheric read! From the beginning, the author was able to so accurately describe the setting that I could nearly feel the snow crunching beneath my feet and smell the salt sea air.

The story it self was very well done for this age group. Even at nearly 40 years old I was able to enjoy the story but could see how readers of the intended ages would immediately fall in love with the manor and the mystery behind it's story. Frantz's description of the characters emotions was very well laid out in a way that younger readers could easily identify with and made the story that much more believable and loveable.

This book would make for a wonderful bookish advent calender or an addition to a home or school library for the holiday season.

It's two from two with this author and her rich, creepy dramas for young readers. This isn't as historical a setting as her first, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5113780606, but still takes a girl heroine to a strange, large building and puts her in a spooky situation. Here, Flora and her writer mother have decamped to a seaside village for December, so that the mother is without distraction in her writing – it also means Flora can leave some bullies behind, bullies who like to be derogatory about her looks and hygiene, and use the fact the husband/father died of an illness as a weapon. They fetch up in the gatekeeper's lodge to a huge mansion, where they should only have the one neighbour – a private old chap from a different cottage on the estate. But I say 'should' – several spectral entities are witnessing Flora's arrival with interest, carrying ideas that someone has returned, and holding worries that Flora will try and make off with a treasure…

Slowly, Flora will find some things, and spot some people, and have in her mind recipes and facts and abilities she shouldn't really have, and by then she'll be caught. As is the reader – this engages from the off and never lets go, in contrast to the author's debut that was more of a slow build. So well-crafted is this it's actually annoying that the authorial voice gets too many exclamation marks, but if the editor pushing the punctuation to emphasise the spookiness is the biggest fault here, then so be it.

Ultimately this isn't too much about the chills, anyway – it's a girl-learning-of-her-destiny story of much distinction. The piece is warmly old-and-yet-new, too, with nods to The Secret Garden as well as many a ghost story; Flora's 'skill' (for want of a better word) is the opposite to Let the Right One In, and stories such as those. So in the finish this is going to be satisfying to many an age bracket, which always makes me thankful. The older readers will see the many nods to classic fictions of their past, and anyone younger will have a highly dramatic and spooky advent drama, intelligently delivering its haunting plot. Either way, be prepared for it to stick around for days. A strong four stars.

If you are looking for a cosy and charming read that is perfect for autumn and winter nights look no further.
“The Secret of Helmersbruck Manor” is an enchanting middle grade mystery set around a fascinating abandoned manor.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨( rounded up to 5⭐️)

Review:

The story draws you in and you immediately start to empathise with Flora, our protagonist.
Flora recently lost her father and her once friend found another group of friends, leaving our Flora feeling abandoned and alone.

Her mother takes her to the seaside in winter because they both need a reset, and they rent The Gatekeeper’s Cottage near Helmersbruck Manor.

Odd things start happening from the moment she arrives at the cottage and everything she experiences over the next days creates this spooky, intriguing, and mysterious atmosphere.
She starts seeing shapes into the night, hearing voices, feeling like the manor wants to communicate with her, she hears a music box playing inside the abandoned manor, mysterious figurines are left for her in random places, a white squirrel seems to be looking at her and follows her, etc.
All of this creates an eerie and at the same time cosy atmosphere. Flora feels a connection to the manor and does not get spooked.

However, the story is not only about the manor and the mystery, but also about Flora and how she deals with the grief of losing her father and the aftermath of her terrible experiences at school.

The art inside the book is gorgeous and a great addition to the story. I felt really involved and captivated at the same time.

This book brought forth a childlike sense of wonder in me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Beautiful, atmospheric, and meaningful, a perfect read to cosy up with on a cold night.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the free copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was able to read it on Kindle and the cover really got me I thought it would be a great festive read for winter spooky reading. I did enjoy the story I wanted a bit more Christmas Carol ghostly vibes but this is a a great middle grade novel that will capture the middle grade reader this winter!

A little bit Agatha Christie, a little bit Flavia de Luce, a little bit,,, Charles Dickens? You bet! This is a charming little mystery for any budding sleuth in your life and a manor house at Christmas is the perfect setting for this tale of mystery. In our home, we have started a tradition of buying ghost stories to read the family at Christmas. Well, perhaps it's time to add mysteries to the list as well!

12-year-old Flora Winter and her mother head off for a month holiday over Christmas for her mother to finish writing her book. They’re headed to Helmersbruk to stay in a small cottage on a larger estate. The instant Flora touches down on the property she feels a pull to the Manor and begins to experience some unusual events. Flora has recently lost her dad and is still very much grieving the loss of his presence. What she finds at Helmersbruk Manor will fill her heart and complete her story in ways she never imagined. Filled with a cast of characters that come alive on the page, this story brings the past to the present in a way that will keep readers wanting to know more. It’s an ode to the preservation of treasured family heirlooms and stories as well as a reminder that’s it’s ok to still hold on tight to something you love, even if it’s gone.

What a great children’s fiction adventure to take your kids on. It’s the perfect blend for this fall season- Ghosts AND Christmas… what could be better?? This mystery is filled with heart and I can’t wait to share it with my own kids.

For reader reference it is not at all scary, there are concepts of death, bullying, and illegitimacy.

Although it seems that Flora’s story is all tied up with a bow, I’m hoping this isn’t the last of her and the Manor’s story 🤞🏻. In the mean time we will be buying Eva Frantz’s other children’s fiction mysteries to read as a family!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to @netgalley and @pushkin_press for this #advancedreaderscopy - pub date is 9/24/24.

#2024bookchallenge84of75
#netgalley
#thesecretofhelmersbrukmanor

The Mystery of Helmersbruk Manor is a cozy little novel full of heart, a wonderful cast of characters, and a heartwarming ending.

It would be the perfect book to read in December as the Christmas season approaches, as there is an illustrated chapter for each day of Advent.

This book was catergorized as a children's book, and I thought I was getting a picture book. Imagine my surpise when it turned out to be an illustrated novel. I would put the age range for this book at 12+ only because some of the inferences that need to be made may go over the head of anyone younger.

thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for this advanced ebook copy

** “Maybe this was just how it was in old places? Maybe events of the past had a sort of … echo, even though the people who had lived there were long gone?” **

Eva Frantz delivers a story for youth and adults alike with just enough spooky to be satisfying in “The Secret of Helmersbruk Manor: A Christmas Mystery.”

Flora Winter and her author mom Linn decide to take a monthlong break from life in the city and stay in the remote town of Helmersbruk while grieving the loss of their father and husband. They find themself staying in part of the mostly abandoned von Hiems Manor, a place that “chooses who it allows in.”

As Flora quickly is hit by mysterious voices, a playing music box that she can’t ever find, pale faces and an odd white squirrel, she is determined to solve the mysteries of the manor — is there really a hidden treasure, why do plants seem to grow in the middle of winter, and who is the mysterious Gonny she meets even though no one but the caretaker lives on the property?

Frantz does a great job of creating a plot of intrigue and mystery, filled with unexpected twists. She also develops two interesting sets of characters, the von Hiems who used to live at the manor and those now surrounding Flora. She also includes some great themes, like having faith and trust in one’s self; finding courage to overcome your fears; fighting for what you want to protect; and staying true to your identity.

Lovely illustrations by Elin Sandstrom add to the charm of “The Secret of Helmersbruk Manor: A Christmas Mystery,” with is due out Sept. 24.

For those with younger readers, there are a couple occurrences of very mild swear words and a slightly mature story line at one point.

Five stars out of five.

Pushkin Children’s Books provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

This book has just the right amount of spookiness and mystery to engage Y5-6 students, without scaring them too much. It is perfect for children who are into mysteries and spine-chillers. The book is also beautifully illustrated.

What an enchanting read! This is exactly the sort of story I would have eagerly devoured as a child. Reading it filled me with such empathy for the characters and a hope that there would be a resolution to the intriguing mystery which Flora finds herself faced with. The gorgeous black and white illustrations just added to the charm of this book.
Thank you also for the reading suggestions at the end of the book - I'll certainly be looking out for these.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was a fun and spooky read. My kids love mysteries,so this is right up their alley. I love how Flora keeps trying to put the pieces together,even when time is running out.The drawings were a nice touch as well.

Oooh but I liked this one! It had everything I enjoy in a middle-grade story: a clever and misunderstood protagonist, mysterious happenings no one else notices, and a hidden world-within-the-world element that was magical and eerie and fabulous to watch unfold! Frantz has done a magnificent job crafting a tale that is charming and slightly off-kilter, full of insightful consideration of what it means to feel awkward and like you never fit in. The mystery unfolded perfectly, with just enough misdirection and teasing revelation to keep me engaged and curious throughout the whole book.

Upon finishing, I immediately went in search of more by the author - only to find that there is only one other book that appears to be readily available in English (The Mystery of Raspberry Hill) - which none of my libraries carried but which I found on eBay and promptly ordered. Here's hoping her adult crime fiction makes it into translation soon, because I really enjoyed the way she told a story - and my Finnish is non-existent!

Thank you so much to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for the book to read and review.

Flora moves to a small haunted town for the winter, she is instantly drawn in by the manor on her grounds and finds a mystery to solve and the manor to save from being demolished. From the very start I was hooked and I loved the whole thing. Such an incredibly well written book, so haunting and gripping. So many mysteries throughout, I loved reading this story.

What an absolutely fantastic read, its so creepy and eerie the vibe the whole time is intense, you feel that people are watching her constantly, you can hear them but don’t know who they are. The town is an almost absondoned haunted town and it’s stuck in the past to when it was all last heavily lived in, she’s the first one to come disturb it, to wake it up.

I really liked Flora as a protagonist she’s so interesting and so curious, I love how she daydreams but they aren’t really daydreams at all. She’s seeing the past of someone else’s life there. I really liked how she grew throughout and gained her courage and how determined she was to get inside the manor, to save the manor.

I loved the snippets of the past the story of Rigmor as you read through, It added to the whole story, knowing something that Flora didn’t enhanced the stories mystery. Egon was also interesting but creepy, he just appears and disappears all the time, you knew there was something with him but putting the pieces together I never twigged on at all. I loved learning more of the history of the people and the building, the land surrounding. This story kept ramping up the eeriness and I loved it.

What an incredible mystery, so many twists and turns through the story and though a few things were obvious most of it wasn’t at all. I loved solving everything with Flora and seeing how she fought to save the manor. A very well throughout story with some deep heartfelt scenes towards the end in particular.

I loved the illustrations at the beginning of every chapter, they shared a preview to what was to come, they were really beautifully done but also a little creepy by knowing what was coming a little. Such a great addition to the book.

A charming ghost story set during Christmas, with a subtle Gothic atmosphere. I loved how it seamlessly shifted between the present and a past love story. The pacing was quick and the writing accessible—maybe not as thrilling as I expected, but still a thoroughly enjoyable read.

This book went down very well with our little reading group. It was well paced , magical and spookily scary without inducing nightmares. We loved the well fleshed out characters and the setting. The only complaint was that reading a Christmas book in the summer holidays was a bit odd !

I received a free copy of, The Secret of Helmersbruck Manor, by Eva Frantz, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Twelve year old Flora is spending Christmas in a haunted house, with her mother, and all sorts of characters. I really liked the illustrations in this book, and the Christmas mystery, an enjoyable read.