As a great fan of the author’s previous series, “The Train to Impossible Places”, I was thrilled to hear that he had a new title, but was also worried in case it was not as brilliant.  Well, my concerns were definitely NOT founded.  This is a fabulous book and is definitely in my listing of 5 star titles for this year.  The author has taken the world of “Jack and the Beanstalk” and then twisted it around and added in a touch of “Murder most Foul” and “Gulliver’s travels” for good measure.  This absolutely hits the spot as far as crime lovers are concerned, yet it also manages to include a lot of humour.

Anwen is an apprentice meadow-witch, who has an on-going feud with Cerys, who has won a place to train as a sorceress in the city.However, things take a sinister turn during market day, as something very big falls from the sky!  It is a rather well dressed giant and not unexpectedly, after his fall, he is a very dead giant.  Some investigation by Anwen and her grandmother discovers that this was not a natural death,  the victim had been MURDERED.!!    The problem is that there has been no contact between the Giants’ kingdom and the human world since the end of the Great Beanstalk War, many years previously.  However the villagers decide that they have to try and send a message to the Sky Kingdom, unfortunately Anwen and Cerys find themselves caught in the beanstalk that has been especially grown, but which starts to decay after they have reached their destination.  What they discover is that the dead giant was actually the king and they want to help find who the murderer was, but their own lives are in danger, as they are so small.  Look out for an unexpected villain who reveals himself at the climax of the plot

I really think this is one of my favourite books this year, with some fantastic characters, both big and small.  The way that the fairy tale has been twisted really adds to the world building.  In this story the humans live in a world where magic is real but the people are not particularly well off; whilst in the Sky Kingdom, there is no magic, but gold is quite commonplace, so there is a lot of wealth on show.  Being stuck in the sky palace, the two girls have to find some way of working together, not something they are very good at, but gradually they begin to understand that it is teamwork and sharing their individual magical skills which is their best hope of getting home.  What an absolutely five-star read.

Author Information
P.G. Bell is a native of South Wales, where he was raised on a diet of Greek mythology, ghost stories and Doctor Who. He’s had all sorts of jobs over the years, from lifeguard to roller-coaster operator, but has always wanted to write stories. He lives in Wales with his wife Anna and their two children.
The Train to Impossible Places, P.G.’s debut series, has enjoyed widespread success, including shortlistings for the Branford Boase Award, the Crimefest Awards and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.

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