After Matt Lancaster moves with his parents to the Welsh town of Hay-on-Way, he comes across the spot where a young boy had died several years before in a horrible accident. Matt learns that an old farmer had been responsible for the death, and he and his newfound friends decide to torment the confused old man. Eventually, though, Matt learns that there was more to the story than he had been led to believe, and he grows increasingly repelled by both the bullying he'd taken part in and the two other boys who had joined him. Newbery creates a compelling story that blends a mystery, elements of the supernatural, and the difficulties of discovering the truth of past events. Perhaps the best part of this novel, however, is its sense of place. The sights and sounds of the Welsh hills are wonderfully evoked in one lovely passage after another.

Gr 5-7-Riding his bike through the Welsh countryside, 13-year-old Matt Lancaster is hit by a Land Rover-or is he? He is unhurt, his bike is unmarked, and there is no sight or sound of the vehicle. Moreover, the spot where it happens was the site of a similar accident years before, in which 13-year-old Martin Lloyd was killed. New to the town of Hay-on-Wye, where his parents have opened a bookstore, Matt finds himself reluctantly spending time with Tig and Robbo, school bullies who have targeted an old man for sinister mischief, convincing Matt that Wil was Martin's murderer. When Wil brings in a box of books to sell, he inadvertently includes a manuscript (reproduced in its entirety within the novel) which tells the story of another death-that of five-year-old Tommy Jones-lost in the hills many years before. Was Tommy Wil's son, or is Owen, to whom many of the books are inscribed? Gradually, and with the help of three new friends, Matt sorts everything out, but continues to have nightmares, feeling the presence of Martin Lloyd, and sensing that there is something that Martin wants him to do. Readers will empathize with Matt's conflict between needing to belong and doing the right thing, and will enjoy this engrossing mystery with a touch of the supernatural.-Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.