SCOTTISH KNIGHT

In the third entry in Cameron’s middle-grade Young Explorers series, the tweens return to face a centuries-old Scottish curse.

In Oorlich, Scotland, in 1537, Lord MacGregor convicts an old woman of witchcraft, and just before her execution, she curses the MacGregor bloodline. Later that night, Lord MacGregor is brutally murdered in his bedroom by a ghostly knight wearing the lord’s own armor. Before his demise, the lord looks into his attacker’s helmet: “There was no face inside, no face and no head.” Lord MacGregor’s young son Euan has his guards bury the witchcraft-controlled armor in the garden, and all is quiet until 1919, when 13-year-old C.J. Kask accompanies his friends Sadie and Scotty MacGregor to Scotland to visit their relative, the current Lord MacGregor. During some castle renovations, the group discovers a full suit of armor in chains, but the next day, the suit and its accompanying sword have vanished—and Lord MacGregor is murdered that very night. After discovering the existence of the curse by looking through old journals, the kids begin a frantic search for ways to end the ancient evil once and for all. They finally discover Morag, an old woman who has the power to help, but she has a long-standing hatred of the MacGregor family. It’s not until the knight attacks someone outside the MacGregor line that everyone realizes the scale of the danger—resulting in a battle of knightly proportions.

Cameron masterfully crafts a suspenseful tale for middle-grade readers, and it’s one that contains some genuinely scary moments. The novel features classic elements of Gothic horror and echoes works from authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, as when Euan writes in his journal after burying the armor: “I sit in the garden by the stones, and the sound I hear daily in that spot chills my heart. The thumping sound of the knight fighting against its prison.” Later, dents in the unearthed knight’s armor are evidence of its centuries-long struggle against the chains—a spine-chilling revelation of a type that’s familiar from classic tales. The violence isn’t portrayed in an overly graphic manner, but there are definite moments of brutality, beginning with the witch’s beheading, during which “blood splattered against the block, the guards, and the platform.” Such moments are few and far between, however; the story’s focus is firmly on the Young Explorers’ attempts to stop the curse by collecting clues during investigations of everything from old bookshops to elderly villagers. A twist toward the end invo1ving the curse provides another opportunity for a jump scare that segues immediately into an epic showdown. Smooth writing and brisk pacing make for a quick, highly enjoyable read that’s ideal for older kids looking for an eerie ghost story with plenty of action. Although some side characters meet their ends, young readers will be confident that, for the main characters, everything will work out happily in the end.

A rollicking, well-written adventure that expertly combines elements of children’s adventure stories and creepy ghost tales.