The Haunting of Aveline Jones - Phil Hickes

Aveline is obsessed with ghosts and when she's sent to stay with her aunt in Monmouth, she thinks she might just find some in the creepy seaside town. There are all the weird and mysterious scarecrows around and no one really seems to know why. And when she finds a book specifically about ghosts around Monmouth, some seriously strange things start happening.

When I first read that Aveline could even have considered going away without taking any books with her I gasped in shock! But then she fully redeems herself with her joy at finding the second hand bookshop. The bookshop sounds wonderful, especially the back which is like a secret book cave. The owner, Mr Lieberman is a great character, I can see her aunt warns her about him but he is definitely Aveline's (and my) kind of person. I loved the way he describes books and his shop, as if he's adopting all the lost books!

There are the mysterious notes by PP. Sentences interspersed though the book, before each new chapter, which start out quite straightforward but get progressively more ominous. Who is PP and what do these notes mean? They become more meaningful and connected to the story as the book goes on. 

The eerieness and suspense intensifies until you're just waiting for something big to happen. The humorous, quirky writing made me smile quite often as I read. I enjoyed reading this book so much, it's got the perfect blend of creepiness, unusual friendships and booklovers. Book 2 is out around Autumn next year which is far too long to make me wait!

It's not a Christmassy book but as I'm writing this around Christmas time (and I love cherries) I've made a Christmas Cheer-re. I had to substitute some of the ingredients but it still turned out pretty well. 1 shot each of genever, cherry heering liqueur and barolo chinato, 1/2 shot gin, 1/4 shot maraschino and 2 dashes of orange bitters. Stir all with ice and strain into a glass. Garnish with a cherry (or 3).