THE WOLF'S HOWL

Two teen detectives accompany their noble employers on a covert mission to a castle that is, it turns out, positively ridden with spies and secrets.

Continuing a storyline opened in The Fire Star (2022), as part of larger political maneuverings, Sir Garrick Sharp and his new wife, Lady Cassandra, have been sent to wind-swept Glawn Castle to sound out the loyalties of its overlord, Airl Riding—leaving squire Reeve and lady’s companion Maven to find out where the rest of the castle’s residents stand…and also to puzzle out a mystery involving a missing cook and a recipe that contains a coded message. As before, the young sleuths’ quick wits and complementary temperaments come into play—as does Maven’s membership in a secret society dedicated to educating women and helping them improve their lives—as the duo solve mysteries, effect rescues, and neutralize a mysterious ring of spies who may or may not be working for the realm’s wastrel king. Along with effectively using the constant titular gale to add atmosphere to the remote medieval setting and chucking in conflicts with a cunning mean girl as an ongoing subplot, Tait has a bit of fun by forcing Reeve to exchange clothes in one scene with a woman who rides off whooping at “the freedom afforded by a pair of breeches.” Every cast member in the ficto-British kingdom of Cartreff presents White.

More feudal finagling, with feminist strains running through a round of clever clue gathering.