A review by hollowspine
A Thief in the House of Memory by Tim Wynne-Jones

3.0

This was an interesting book about a family mystery. Declan Steeple lives in a small house at the bottom of a hill, but above him on the hill is his old house, where he used to live before his mother ran away. It's a big house filled to the brim with relics of his old life. A random visit with his little sister turns into a mystery when Declan discovers a man buried beneath a large bookcase, dead. He starts visiting the house more often, seeing visions of his mother there. Is she trying to tell him something?

One mystery piles onto another and it is up to Declan alone to figure out the truth. Did his mother really run away? Or is she trapped in the House of Memory until he can set her free?

It was a very quick read and pretty good, suspenseful and well written. I liked all the quirky characters Wynne-Jones introduces throughout the story as well. For a short book it is well developed and the narrative is easy to follow and engrossing.

A good book for younger teens. Although they may feel that some of the kid characters are a bit older than their years.