Sarah Reviews… Moonlocket by Peter Bunzl

Title: Moonlocket

Author: Peter Bunzl

Publisher: Usbourne

Publication Date: 1^st May 2017

Format: Paperback

About the book:

It’s hard to escape the secrets from the past.

Storm clouds gather over Lily and Robert’s summer when criminal mastermind the Jack of Diamonds appears. For Jack is searching for the mysterious Moonlocket – but that’s not the only thing he wants.

Suddenly, dark secrets from Robert’s past plunge him into danger. Jack is playing a cruel game that Robert is a part of. Now Lily and Malkin, the mechanical fox, must stay one step ahead before Jack plays his final, deadly card…

What I Thought:

A few months have past since the exciting conclusion of Cogheart when we rejoin Lily and her family back at Brackenbridge Manor. Lily’s father John is still concerned that others may discover the fact Lily is not the average young girl she seems and Robert is still coming to terms with the lost of his father and the horologist’s shop he called home. When the master criminal and former famous escapologist escapes from prison and begins to hunt for the Blood Moon Diamond he stole from the Queen it isn’t long before Lily, Robert and Malkin find themselves back in the thick of it again! Together they head off on another adventure!

I absolutely devoured this book yesterday afternoon and sat down immediately to write this review. From the prologue to the very final page this story had me absolutely hooked! Moonlocket is filled to the brim with action and adventure, with page after page of fantastic and dastardly characters. Once again Peter has come up with an incredible tale! I thought he would struggle to match the climax of Cogheart but he manages it!

I loved catching up with Lily again and discovering she’s still the same headstrong girl she always was, desperate for adventure! I completely connected with her frustration at her father’s wish to wrap her in cotton wool and protect her following the reveals at the end of Cogheart. At the same time I can understand her father wanting to keep her safe following those same events! To the surprise of no one who knows Lily it doesn’t take her long to be out adventuring against everyone’s advice! I think Moonlocket gave us some great character growth with Lily as she grew to understand and accept the things that made her different.

As much as Cogheart was Lily’s story I feel that Moonlocket was Robert’s and I enjoyed seeing him step up to centre stage and to learn more about him. I really felt for Robert as he tried to come to terms with his new situation. Appreciating what Lily and her father have done for him by welcoming him into the Manor, but not quite ready to let go of his own father. Robert has the biggest journey to go on during the course of the story, and discovers a lot about himself in the process. Over the course of these two books I’ve become really fond of both characters and I really hope that by the time I reach the end of Shadowsea they both have the happy endings I think they deserve!

I won’t say too much about any of the other characters that appear during Moonlocket as I don’t want to give anything away despite me being a couple of years late to the party! I really liked the fact we got to catch up with Anna again, and Malkin was still his delightful snarky self! I thought Tolly was a lovely addition to the gang I hope I get the chance to see again in one of the later adventures. The Jack of Diamonds was a fantastic bad guy! I loved the reveals we got about him as we made our way through the book, a very worthy adversary to follow on from Cogheart‘s villains!

Final Thoughts

What a wonderful book Moonlocket is! I must confess after loving Cogheart so much I was a little worried about how this second story would stack up but I certainly was not disappointed! It was such a joy to catch up with Lily, Robert and Malkin again. I’m very much looking forward to getting to their next adventure in less time than it took me to pick up this one!

The Cogheart Adventures on Goodreads

More Peter Bunzl on SWB

About The Author

Peter grew up in South London in a rambling Victorian house with three cats, two dogs, one little sister, an antique dealer dad and an artist mum. Peter has always wanted to tell stories, and found inspiration visiting film and TV sets including James Bond and Postman Pat, where his mum worked as a costume designer. As a child he loved writing and drawing his own books and comic books and was enamoured with the idea of bringing his characters to life, this led to a deep interest in film and animation.

Peter went on to study animation at art college and then at the National Film and Television School. He has animated on commercials, promos, and 2 BAFTA winning children’s TV shows (Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! and The Secret Show) and has also written and directed several successful short films. His film, Mind Games was a finalist for Virgin Media Shorts Award (2008) and screened in over 200 UK cinemas.