'Best seller Vashti Hardy returns with another heartfelt and action-filled addition to the Griffin Gate series.
'Grace’s family are wardens of the Griffin map, using its teleport technology to fight crime across Moreland. And now there’s someone new on the team: Tom Eely, who has been training hard to become a warden.
'Grace and Tom reckon they’re ready to tackle a mission together, but they’re disappointed when Mum sends them to a quiet mountain village where ravens have been pestering the locals. Surely there won’t be any opportunities to use their exciting gadgets or combat skills there?
'But as the pair investigate, the situation becomes more puzzling. Why does it seem like the ravens are protecting something? And are the villagers’ tales of a mountain witch really to be believed? Grace and Tom will have to use all their wit, skill and courage if they want to solve the raven riddle...'
The Griffin Gate series has proven to be an enjoyable, and often action packed series of adventure books for young readers, and now the young hero Grace gets to return for a third outing, joined by her new friend Tom.
Having began reading this series with the second book in the series, The Puffin Portal, I was familiar with how Tom had recently come to become part of Grace's family as well as joining their team. The book begins not long after the events of the last book, with Tom having gone through several weeks of training to get him used to being a Warden. He's a capable kid, and is as eager as Grace to get out into the world and start working some cases.
When Grace's older brother, Bren returns from a case in the village of Brook Hollow to collect some equipment. However, when an emergency call comes in Bren, and Grace's mother, are have to leave. This means that Grace and Tom get to take over Bren's mission; even if it is just looking into some misbehaving Ravens.
Arriving in Brook Hollow, the two teens get reports of flocks of Ravens that have been harassing the townspeople, and scaring them away from the nearby forest. Setting out to investigate, the two of them are surprised to find a strange cabin out in the forest, and get even more freaked out when the building gets up and starts walking about on legs. Were the villagers right, could there be a witch in the forest behind all the trouble?
I really enjoy how the Griffin Gate books presents the readers with a pretty unusual, but not too weird, mystery to begin things, something that Grace and Tom can be sent on as younger, less experienced Wardens. But very quickly it becomes clear that there's more going on than you first think, and that the mystery has a number of elements you wouldn't be able to predict. This time it being a big house that can get up and walk around.
Whilst the last book was about a mystery, this one isn't so much though. Pretty soon after the discovery of the strange house Tom and Grace get presented with an explanation, and it seems like the situation can be put to bed. This comes when there's still half the book left, so there has to be something else going on right? Absolutely, it's at this point that Vashti Hardy switches gears and it goes from a strange mystery story into an adventure story, as a huge flood threatens to destroy everything and everyone in the area and the kids have to try to find a way to save the day.
The sudden shift into a disaster story was pretty unexpected, but was absolutely wonderful to read. It made this book feel very different from the previous one, showing that big, exciting things can happen in this series. It also gave both Grace and Tom moments to shine, they got to step up and be heroic, and they bonded even further, proving themselves to be an incredibly effective team.
The book also features some fantastic illustrations by Natalie Smmillie, who provides the interior and cover art for the book. Whilst the cover is in full colour the interior art is in black and white, but this doesn't do anything to diminish how great the art is. The illustrations really help to bring the story to life in fun and exciting ways, showcasing some of the bigger moments of the book. There's a full page illustration close to the end where Tom gets to make his big hero moment, and it's absolutely fantastic.
The Raven Riddle is the perfect addition to this series. It shows how things have evolved since Tom joined the team, how he makes for a perfect addition and works really well with Grace. And it's also a great jumping on point for new readers as it doesn't punish you for not having read the previous books, giving you everything you need to know to get up to speed and dive straight in. If your kids love fun adventure stories this is one they'll definitely want to check out.
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