To be honest, its the setting that is the stand-out element of this book. Theres a constant sensation of the manor being more than what meets the eye, and indeed this proves true of all of the other settings in the book as welleverything from the eerie fairy forest to even the local township. The ancient manor creaks and crumbles on the page, and its impossible not to be able to feel the sheer size and grandeur of the building. Im always a sucker for a book set in a shambling country estate, and this one uses place to excellent effect. Thirteen Treasures is a rich, lush book, and its beautifully transportative: the reader has a sense of the setting being so very real. But when youre dealing with fairy, nothings as easy as it seems, and soon the two are fending off charms and spells, avoiding the severe gaze of Tanyas grandmother, sneaking off into the woods at night, and perhaps more importantly of all, trying to figure out whos truly on their side.

Tanya and her unlikely friend Fabian, a dorky lad whos the son of the manors caretaker, set about unravelling the truth behind an unsolved murder case thats haunted Tanyas grandmother and the other residents of the mansion for many long years. But Tanya is far from safe in her new surrounds: despite her best efforts, she finds herself swept up in all manner of superstition and intrigue: including a fifty year old mystery that rears its very ugly head. After a particularly cruel prank on the part of the fairies, Tanyas mother finds herself at her wits end, and sends Tanya off to stay with her cold and distant grandmother at her ramshackle country estate.

Tanya has long been at their mercy: as an individual with the dubious gift of being able to see the fey, shes singled out for the sorts of torment that other people dont have to worry about. No, this is pre-Disney fairy were talking about here: the unseelie, the cruel, and the cunning. Its a good thing that thirteen-year-old Tanya pays attention to what she reads, because the fairy realm that shes about to encounter has none sugar and spice and everything nice weve been conditioned to expect. The list was being near running water, like a stream or a book, the colour red, salt, turning clothes inside out, and iron. I once read somewhere about a list of things meant to break curses, says Tanya.

The thirteen treasures series