Edgar is back and in fine fettle...for his age, which is more than considerable. The Guardian of Otherhand Castle is alarmed when kitchen maids start dying in extremely unlikely ways and an extremely hairy tutor arrives to bore the two older children of the household with such things as geography homework.

Matters get ever stranger, what with coins coming to rest on their edges and a certain sticky monkey ceasing to harass all and sundry...so not everything is going badly, but still, there is a Mystery to be solved and in such circumstances a Raven of the highest calibre is required.

Yes, more baffling goings on as related by what should by now be everybody's favourite raven. He's such an endearing character and the humans are fun, too. So why not spend a quick two or three hundred pages in their company, once more?

I noticed that in the first volume the illustrations were integral - part of the story telling. This was noticably not the case this time out; it seemed like one could live without them if necessary - but I wouldn't want to - they add a lot to these GothicKmost of comedic mysteries.

Watch out for the most shocking of events connected to one of Otherhand Senior's inventions! Nothing came as more of a surprise in a book full of very unlikely happenstances! ( )