The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane

Author: Julia Nobel
Genre: Middle Grade Mystery
Series: Black Hollow Lane (#1)
Type: e-book
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
First Published: March 5, 2019
Opening Lines: "There were certain things Emmy's mother didn't really need to know."

Book Description from GoodReads: Emmy's dad disappeared years ago, and with her mother too busy to parent, she's shipped off to Wellsworth, a prestigious boarding school in England. But right before she leaves, a mysterious box arrives full of medallions and a note reading: These belonged to your father.

Just as she's settling into life at Wellsworth, Emmy begins to find the strange symbols from the medallions etched into the walls and stumbles upon the school's super-secret society, The Order of Black Hollow Lane. As Emmy and her friends delve deeper into the mysteries of The Order, she can't help but wonder—did this secret society have something to do with her dad's disappearance?

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Sourcebooks Jabberwocky and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

My Review: This book piqued my interest with its beautiful cover and its setting - a British boarding school. Gotta love it! The mystery has an adventurous feel with its ancient relics, secret societies and hidden passageways but at the heart of the story is Emmy, a tween girl who has been dumped at the school by her overly busy mom but finds solace in two friends who don't mind digging into the mystery of Emmy's missing father.

While Nobel brings her own unique story and characters, fans of Harry Potter will see its influence here in a few spots and whether this engages or distracts will depend on the reader. What will keep kids reading is wanting to know more about the secret society and the whereabouts of Emmy's father.

As the first book in a new series, time is taken to set up the overall plot which left parts of the book (and some characters) feeling like they weren't given enough time. But now that the groundwork has been set for the series, I believe future books will focus more on the mystery and developing more well-rounded characters.

Overall, this is an intriguing Middle School mystery with some darker elements but ultimately, it's a story about friendship and finding a place where you belong.