Midwinter Nightingale

Publishers Weekly

"Sorrow and a magnificent bleakness suffuse this excellent addition to the saga begun with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase," said PW in a starred review. Ages 10-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

Dido Twite is a heroine with a lot of pluck and a lot of luck, much of it bad. But good luck seems to come along when she needs it most. She and her pal, Simon, the Duke of Battersea, are among the few true allies of King Richard in a parallel Dickensian England. Since the king is dying without an heir, the villains of the story are eager to find out where he is sequestered so they can control who the next king will be. They are sure Dido knows where he is. So she is abducted and taken to Fogrum Hall, a place from which no one has ever escaped alive. She is imprisoned without food, interrogated and made to feel her only means of escape is telling something she doesn't know. How will she ever cope with the seemingly hopeless situation? Will she or Simon be able protect the king and locate the coronet that is essential for crowning the successor to the throne? Finding the answers to these questions will hold the reader's attention. This book, the eighth in the "Wolves of Willoughby Chase" series, lacks the sort of background information helpful to a reader new to the series, so will be more appreciated by those who are already fans. The author, who has written more than 100 books for young readers and adults, has received many awards. Recently, she was named as a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. 2003, Delacorte Press/Random House Children's Books, Ages 9 up.
— Janet Crane Barley

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7-Forty years after the publication of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Doubleday, 1963), Aiken presents a new and vibrant adventure of indomitable Dido Twite in this eighth book in the series. Dido gets involved in a plot by an exceedingly evil werewolf-Baron fresh from 15 years incarceration in the Tower of London. The Baron connives to place his own son on the throne of England, rather than Dido's friend Simon. Energetic, imaginative characterization, suspense, and superb timing drive the story to a satisfying conclusion. Although titles in the "Wolves" series may be read independently, readers of the earlier books are the best audience for this romp of a Victorian parody. Aiken's faux-historical novels should appeal to readers of Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (HarperCollins).-Susan Patron, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Croopus! No sooner does Dido Twite step off the boat after a long vacation in the Americas, than she's catapulted into a whirl of high-level chicanery. It seems that dying King Richard IV has disappeared, just as a motley assortment of enemies-including various elder relatives and a vengeful werewolf with two decidedly bad-news offspring-have allied to stage a coup, with the help of an invading army of Burgundians. And while Dido's escaping from kidnap, torture, poison, and fire, her young friend Simon, Duke of Battersea, finds himself charged with keeping the delirious king both happy and safe from discovery, flood, and variously armed assailants. Strewing the proceeds with corpses (though keeping most of them offstage), Aiken sends the principals blundering through foggy marshes to a grand climax in which the schemers do each other in, and Simon suddenly, unwillingly finds himself the new king. Fans of the long-running "Wolves" series or not, readers won't be able to turn the pages of its wild, nonstop new entry fast enough. (Fiction. 11-13)