Jeffrey E. Barlough

Hooting Grange returns us to Fenshire, in the town of Market Snailsby, where we meet the usual range of Dickensian-named characters, many with secrets, some with missions, and some just there for comic relief.

The main character, more or less, Captain Surtees, has inherited the ill-omened Hooting Grange from his aunt, and is fruitlessly seeking to get people in to refurbish some of its rooms. A mysterious stranger is poking around, asking questions and raising suspicions. A visiting academic is cataloging the Captain's aunt's library (or is he?). An invisible creature is disrupting village life with its nightly howling and smashing of water butts, troughs, boats, and the like.

Meanwhile, ordinary life goes on: people visit with each other; gossips gossip; shops are perused; taverns and inns serve ale, tea, cakes, and more. As usual, some of the animals provide useful and amusing commentary on the proceedings, and others appear merely as themselves.

Eventually the various mysteries come together and are resolved. Life goes on, a bit quieter again, but those gossips are still eagerly stirring the pot, eager for the next mystery.

I don’t understand why the Western Lights series isn’t a lot more popular than it is, as they’re always delightful, with a balanced mix of quirky characters, weird happenings, and humorous side roads. Hooting Grange continues the series as expected, and is a nice addition to the history of the Sundered World.

The only real criticism I have of Hooting Grange is that I felt like the ending was a bit rushed. The various mysteries slowly revealed themselves (often turning out to be one sort of misunderstanding or another), and then there's a visitation that abruptly ties together the remaining threads, and closes the story. I would have enjoyed a slower bit-by-bit revelation more, as reaching the end of one of Barlough's books is always a bittersweet moment, often all the sweeter after a longer run.… (meer)