I wouldn't normally take up a ghost story but this is set in Suffolk, so that made me curious. But as all the action takes place in a boarding school, its own self-contained corner of the world, it could have been set in any part of the country. 

I'm glad I was lured in to this book, though! A fabulous adventure story with great, believable, engaging characters and the mystery of ghostly goings on too. 

Lilian Jones has been sent to the Shadowhall Academy because it's where her mum went to school. But Lilian isn't keen to leave her mum and dad, and younger sister and it takes her a few days to settle in. As the new girl she looks set to be bullied, and everyone seems to want to scare her, too, with stories of the school being haunted.

While Lilian soon stamps her ground with the bully, and becomes a member of a close knit group of girls all sharing the same dorm, the ghost stories don't look set to go away.

Strange things happen. Tapping and whispering noises come from the walls, there are tales of missing students and strange figures in the woods. And Lilian's friends might be in danger, too. 

Of course Lilian is a resourceful girl and determines to find the source of all these mysterious events.

It's a gripping, perfectly paced, and perfectly pitched story - the level of scariness is just right, and life in a boarding school also has just the right mix of hardship and fun. It's a wonderfully nostalgic read. I loved it, and it's the first in a series.