Twice Upon a Time

The Morrow Twins, Merry and Spike, have a secret that only they know about; working together they can actually stop time.  Not only that, they also occasionally have curious visions (one seeing into the past, while the other girl sees what is yet to come), not to mention the very strange effect that they have on any nearby clocks or watches. When they arrive at the mysterious Fox House for the summer holidays, they must find something to entertain themselves while their mum works in the main house restoring paintings. However, it is not long before they discover that Fox House also has a few secrets of its own, including a missing woman, a baby left on the doorstep and a locked study, and the sisters are soon drawn into a quest to find out what really happened all those years before. Can the twins uncover the decades-old mystery using their special powers and without being discovered themselves?

This is a delicious mystery thriller, with perfect amounts of suspense and twists to keep the reader guessing right up until the end.  There are a wonderful mix of characters, both good and evil, and I particularly enjoyed the comeuppance of one of the less than pleasant residents of the house, who makes the twins’ lives very uncomfortable indeed.

As Harrison’s previous titles have shown, she is a master of magical stories and with Twice Upon a Time, she has yet again created a unique and fantastical tale. There is most certainly scope for these main characters to have further adventures in the future and if so, I can’t wait to see what Merry and Spike get up to next.