The Secret of Nightingale Wood

The Secret of Nightingale Woods
Lucy Strange
Chicken House, 2017 304 pages
Grades 4-7
Mystery/Historical Fiction

It is 1919. The Great War is over and England is trying to put its pieces back together. Henrietta's (Henry) family has too many loose pieces to count since her brother Robert died the year before. Her mother has been suffering from a long and serious depression, so father moves the family out of London, where all of the memories lie, to a seaside town once visited in happier days. Father cannot bare the sadness and brokenness of the family and escapes abroad for business, leaving mother, Henry, and baby Piglet in the care of competent Nanny Jane.  Nanny Jane has her hands full and allows herself to be influenced by a local doctor, who believes that the best course of treatment for mother is to keep her in a drugged state in a locked room for "rest". He makes plans to take the baby and give her to his wife for "safe keeping", while conspiring to commit mother to a mental institution, where questionable methods are employed. Henry feels helpless and desperate. A walk in the woods leads her to a crumbling trailer where a woman resides, who is rumored to be a witch. Henry becomes friends with the witch, who offers her hope and advice. Who is this witch? And who is the mysterious man hovering on the cliff who appears to be watching Henry's small family? And what can she do to save mother and Piglet from the clutches of the evil doctor and his creepy wife?

I recently read Our Castle by the Sea and loved it so much I wanted to give Strange's first novel a try. Much in the same vein as Castle, this first book is a dark, atmospheric mystery set in Britain's past. Both books feature young female protagonists, who are left with a big mess and must save their families.  Who feel powerless, yet tap into the inner strength they didn't know they had. This book will appeal to fans of The War that Saved my Life with bits of The Secret Garden thrown in. There are mysterious figures, evil doers with whom our hero must battle, and kind adults that lend a hand. Sensitive readers may find the story disturbing in that it deals with severe mental illness and death. The setting is well conceived and readers are offered a slice of British life following the dark days of the first world war. The mystery is the identity of the witch and this is satisfyingly revealed. Another mystery is the exact circumstances of Robert's death, which Strange chooses not to reveal until towards the end. Readers will be frustrated by the behavior of Henry's father, yet he pulls through in a clutch, showing that even adults make mistakes, yet we can attempt to fix them. And indeed-all is fixed by book's end, but poor Henry deserves a happy ending and no one can begrudge her that, even if it is a bit unrealistic. An adventurous and surprising tale, give to kids who like their historical fiction with a dark and mysterious twist.