Review: The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

From Puffin Books: THE NIGHT GARDENER follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its inhabitants are not quite what they seem. Soon, the children are confronted by a mysterious stranger—and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives.

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier is an instantly gripping ghost story, one that would be perfect read late at night or around a crackling campfire. When Molly and Kip’s parents are lost at sea, they take jobs at an old house in the Sour Woods. Even though they have a bad feeling about the manor, Kip is sick, in need of a hot meal and a warm bed, so Molly insists they stay. But the manor has a dark history and it isn’t long before the siblings begin to realize something is amiss with the Windsor family who lives there…and the giant black tree that grows against the house. As the line between stories and lies blurs, it’s up to Kip and Molly to uncover the secrets of the Windsor manor and hopefully save everyone who lives there before it’s too late.

Beautiful, atmospheric writing brings this book to vibrant life. It made me an instant fan of Auxier and I will definitely be picking up his other books. With pitch-perfect narration, and characters like Molly, who has a passion for weaving stories, and local storyteller (and my favourite character) Hester Kettle, who accepts meaningful belongings as payment and wears them on her back, The Night Gardener is a love letter to storytelling.

The Night Gardener will have you breaking out in goose bumps one page and chuckling the next, and will hold you in suspense until the very end—it should not be missed.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (4/5 hearts)