#606 - The Curious Case of the Abandoned Temple
by Maya Chandrasekaran and illustrated by Meera Naidu
“The Curious Case of the Abandoned Temple” by Maya Chandrasekharan and illustrated by Meera Naidu. Published by Adisakrit. A compelling adventure featuring four cousins and a dog who want to investigate the mystery of strange happenings at an abandoned temple.
Siblings Anusha (13) and Aryav (9) are on a visit to their aunt’s place in Bangalore. Their aunt takes them on a short getaway along with her eleven year old twins Tara and Nikhil as well as her Labrador Missy to their farmhouse two hours away from Bangalore. Anusha is not happy at the prospect of this holiday right from the start. The thought of having to spend her summer with the younger ones is not at all appealing compared to the good times that her gang of friends back home in Pune seem to be having. Little does she or her cousins know what is in store for them at the farm this time.
Strange things are happening at an abandoned old stone temple just outside the boundary of the farm. No one seems to be interested about it. Spooky noises are heard and dancing lights seen by the children outside the temple in the middle of the night. They decide that they need to probe the incident and find out the mystery behind these occurrences. The adults are not ready to talk about it. While some ask the children not to go near it as it is supposed to be cursed or haunted, others brush off all these theories and deem the place to be just a regular old place of no mystery whatsoever. Will the children be able to crack the mystery with the adults hovering around? What are they going to uncover? Read the adventure filled story to find out.
The adventure and fun filled light read was an enjoyable and relatable one for me and my eleven year old son. The timing of summer holidays and the heat was so apt making us feel as though we were part of the adventure too along with the four children and the dog :) Mystery, curiosity, excitement, simple joys, adventure, sibling squabbles and a dash of fun in the summer holidays are some of the ingredients of this delightful and breezy read. The story gave us a glimpse into life at an idyllic farmhouse. The mention of good old South Indian comfort food had us hooked and we waited for every mention of food throughout the story :) Other than the solving of the mystery of course, which thickened as the plot progressed. The twists and turns till the end kept us guessing how the mystery would turn out to be.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 9 and above.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Adisakrit here.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the author, Maya Chandrasekharan, for review. Thank you for sending across the book Maya!