Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull

LoveReading4Kids Says

Comically spooky and woven with whimsy, Martin Howard’s Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull presents an inventive raising-the-dead adventure around breaking a necromancer’s curse. Mallory is a marvellous character to die for — a kooky smart cookie, in fact — with sidekick Maggoty Skull providing plenty of flamboyant humour.

The arresting opening scene sees Mallory’s parents’ ghosts “chattering through their own funeral as if they were at an afternoon tea party”. In the wake of their tragic deaths, Mallory is set to be sent to an orphanage, until a mysterious turbaned woman at their funeral turns out to be her long-lost Aunt Lilith — a woman formerly known as Hilda, who wonders whether Mallory has inherited the family “talent to part the curtains of death itself and speak with those who have passed over”. While Mallory can hear her deceased parents, Lilith’s claims to have psychic powers turn out to be fraudulent

And so to Lilith’s Carrion Castle, Mallory’s first impressions of which are far from favourable: “The mansion oozed a spite that twisted Mallory’s insides. Whatever was inside felt hungry. Old. Evil”.  Next morning, Mallory is horrified to discover she can no longer hear her parents. Rather, she’s called-to-action by a talkative, wig-loving skull named Maggoty who tells her his former mistress Hellysh Spatzl chopped off his head and cursed him, leaving his spirit locked inside his own skull for 500 years. Oh, and he also informs Mallory that she’s a necromancer.

After striking a deal with Maggoty — “if you can help me find my mother and father then I suppose I’ll get you a wig and help lift your curse. We have a deal” — comes a pact with Hellysh Spatzl. To quote Maggoty, “What’s the worst that could happen, eh?” And so, a spirited adventure unfolds, with splendidly atmospheric illustrations by Pete Williamson enhancing the creepy vibe, and a spectacular showdown at a séance concluding an exciting, amusing, and sometimes moving novel.

Joanne Owen

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