Max the Detective Cat: The Phantom Portrait

Sarah Todd Taylor's Max the Detective Cat: The Phantom Portrait is a spooky country-house mystery for 8 year olds, solved by a very fluffy cat.

What happens

Maximilian lives at the Theatre Royal, and he takes his tail VERY seriously. This time the whole theatre company is off to Fawley Castle in Sussex. Lord Fawley has asked them to perform at the masked ball for his daughter Arabella's eighteenth birthday, on Halloween night.

Getting there doesn't go to plan. Max's best friend Oscar, a one-eyed black cat, has stowed away in a hatbox. Agnes panics, and both cats tumble out of the car window into a dark country lane. Poor Max is dirty, cold and hungry all at once (his three least favourite things).

The castle is everything Agnes hoped for. Gargoyles, towers and a tiny theatre all done out in velvet and stars. There's also an enormous portrait of Lady Celine, whose ghost is said to haunt anyone who dares to perform there. Her precious tiara vanished the night she died.

Then the strange goings-on start. Footsteps on an empty landing. A pale face at the glass roof in a thunderstorm. The dressing rooms turned upside down.

Max isn't fooled. Ghosts don't wear rose perfume, for a start. And his tail tingles every time someone seems a little too keen for everyone to believe in the curse. Can your reader work out who's behind it before he does?

Max is a treat to spend time with. He has a different miaow for everything, including "if there is any cream left, I have space for a little more". He's vain and greedy and braver than he looks. Oscar's tall tales (he once saved the Lord Chancellor from a fishbone, apparently) are a lovely bonus.

It's worth knowing that this one leans spooky. The legend says Lady Celine died in a fire she started herself, and there are some proper creepy moments in the dark.

But so far every ghost turns out to have a sensible explanation, and Max is never far from a snack. A child who likes a shiver should be absolutely fine.

There's an old-fashioned glamour to it too. Motor cars, a low-flying aeroplane, masked balls and very grand dinners with salmon slipped under the table.

What to read next

This isn't Max's first case. If your reader hasn't met him yet, The Disappearing Diva is where he leaves his velvet cushion behind and finds his way to the theatre in the first place.