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The Twilight Walker: A Spooky Forest Mystery
Finn thought campfire stories were just stories. He couldn't have been more wrong.
Eleven-year-old Finn can't stand camping and is fed up with being picked on by his seemingly perfect older brother, Matt. Everything changes when their mother starts acting like a different person, and Finn-—along with his cat, Pepper—is the only one who realizes the she's been replaced by an impostor. Will Matt believe him?
With the fake mom hot on their trail and time running out, the brothers must put aside years of misunderstandings and resentment to save their family from a haunted forest where sinister legends come to life.
A fast-paced supernatural mystery full of chills, heart, and sibling tension. Perfect for readers 11+.
Book 3 in the Guardian Cats series. Each book is a standalone adventure, and they can be read in any order.
Eleven-year-old Finn can't stand camping and is fed up with being picked on by his seemingly perfect older brother, Matt. Everything changes when their mother starts acting like a different person, and Finn-—along with his cat, Pepper—is the only one who realizes the she's been replaced by an impostor. Will Matt believe him?
With the fake mom hot on their trail and time running out, the brothers must put aside years of misunderstandings and resentment to save their family from a haunted forest where sinister legends come to life.
A fast-paced supernatural mystery full of chills, heart, and sibling tension. Perfect for readers 11+.
Book 3 in the Guardian Cats series. Each book is a standalone adventure, and they can be read in any order.
159 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 16, 2026
About the author
Nic Minnella
5 books45 followersNic Minnella writes magical middle-grade mysteries where kids face the unthinkable and still muster up the bravery to soar.
In everyday life, she's a bit of an introvert, and, truth be told, a professional procrastinator.
She has a book series called “The Guardian Cats”, which includes The Cat Who Chased Ghosts, "Sybilla and the Clockmaker's Secret," and the upcoming "The Twilight Walker."
In everyday life, she's a bit of an introvert, and, truth be told, a professional procrastinator.
She has a book series called “The Guardian Cats”, which includes The Cat Who Chased Ghosts, "Sybilla and the Clockmaker's Secret," and the upcoming "The Twilight Walker."
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 26, 2026
** Thank you to BookSiren for supplying me with an ARC e-reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I work in a children’s library and am ALWAYS on the lookout for new books to test on our readers. We are a small-town rural library, so sometimes our demographic can be specific and picky. I say all of this because when I DO find a book that I think would work well with our library, I immediately jump on it and let the Children’s Director know that I think it’s something we should order to put in our stacks.
“The Twilight Walker” by Nic Minnella is the 3rd book in “The Guardian Cats” series, and was an absolute FUN read for me. I personally specialize in middle-grade sci-fi and fantasy/adventure book recommendations for our young readers, and I enjoyed this book from beginning to end! It felt like a perfect mix of mystery and adventure with a decent-sized dose of the supernatural thrown in. I immediately knew of some young readers I could recommend it to.
Some things to note:
The book itself seems to center around a Native American legend… I’m unsure if the legend in the book is actually based on a real-life Native Legend or if it’s made up just for the book… That was never made entirely clear. The two characters (both side characters) who are Natives in the story never reveal what tribe they are from, and it may be that this was done purposefully to protect the integrity of the legend itself, as well as to respect the legends and traditions of actual Natives… I’m unsure. Either way, I thought the mystery behind the legend and the way the story plays out around and through it was excellently handled. Also, according to what I’ve learned in research after having read it, the book seems to have gone through several sensitivity readers who also seemed to have approved it. The legend (whether made up or real) seemed based around the idea of skin-walkers and the Spirit World, though those things were never specifically mentioned as such.
*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS OF THE END OF THE BOOK***
There was a part near the end of the book where I had certain questions raised… Near the end of the story, the heroes have to perform a ritual to basically save the world (in so many words). The ritual was said to have been a form of respectfully sending spirits on to the Beyond, and it was stated at one point that it needed to be done every year at the same time… but unfortunately the ritual itself had been done wrong for almost 2 centuries and the heroes had to do the ritual themselves in the correct way in order to fix the problem and save everybody. THAT SAID, once the ritual was done, the heroes all returned to their regular lives… and I couldn’t help but wonder if the ritual still needed to be done every year at the same time, or if - after 200 years - it no longer needed to be done at all? This was never explained… and most likely no one in the story itself would know for certain if it still needed to be done or not. However, the fact that this part of the story was left open raised all sorts of questions in my head.
The Main Character of the book proved to be an interesting character in my mind. He was simply written (perfect for an 11 year old protagonist in a middle grade book), and the dynamic between him and his family (and all of the tension and drama that that involved) was handled well IMO for a middle grade character and protagonist, especially when it came down to the tension between him and his older brother; that particular dynamic felt especially realistic for fictional siblings.
However, one interesting thing I noted about the young Main Character was how the family seemed to tip-toe around him and even try to overprotect him. There were several hints throughout the book (though particularly noted in a conversation later in the story between him and his brother) that the Main Character might be Neurodivergent… possibly on the Spectrum? However, this was never explicitly said or explained, which - as a neurodivergent reader myself - I felt slightly confused by; I was unsure how exactly I was supposed to relate to what I was witnessing in his character, and also unsure how I was supposed to “read” his interactions with his family or his family’s interactions with him around this “unexplained” behavior. It wasn’t until later in the book - and particularly that conversation between him and his brother - that I started to guess at the reasons for these odd interactions. I personally would have preferred having some of this actually explained earlier as I believe it would have made a lot of these interactions and behaviors make more sense. I, by no means, represent any kind of majority of neurodivergent readers on my own, but I don’t think it's necessary to shy away from a simple - perhaps even short - explanation of such things if that is actually something a character is dealing with. Personally, I feel like avoiding such distinction if characters are dealing with this - if only in brief - can be confusing, and perhaps not particularly useful. But again, that’s only my personal beliefs.
As this is an ARC and not particularly a final product, there were a few minor inconsistencies I noticed in the text. One was a slip from 3rd Person Past Tense POV to Third Person Present Tense POV. Another I noted had to do with something the Twilight Walker himself had said… where at one point he’d insisted that only the Main Character (and less possibly the Native side character) could take his place, at another point in the story after sending the main character away on a short quest, he was overheard saying that either the Native Side Character or the Brother would have to take his place… it was a bit confusing and I’m not sure that was meant to slip in, but that’s how I understood the situation and it made me pause.
With these other points in mind, I still give this story a SOLID 4 stars out of 5. It was fast-paced, easy to read, and absolutely engaging. I LOVED the use of the cats in the book, and think this series could potentially intrigue young readers who are fans of the Warriors Series, or honestly who just like cats in general. The story didn’t entirely center around the cats, but the cats were integral enough to the story’s success that it wouldn’t be the same at all if not for them.
ALSO, this is the 3rd book in a series, which I didn’t know when I picked it up, and the book itself absolutely read as a stand-alone. Upon looking into it further, it seems that the first and second book also read as standalones, with different characters throughout. I love this. It means that a young reader can start anywhere in the series and not have to worry about whether they’ve read the first book or not. It makes it so much easier to suggest these books to certain types of readers! I quickly picked up the first and second books for my own collection and plan to tell my Children’s Director to get the entire series if she can!
I work in a children’s library and am ALWAYS on the lookout for new books to test on our readers. We are a small-town rural library, so sometimes our demographic can be specific and picky. I say all of this because when I DO find a book that I think would work well with our library, I immediately jump on it and let the Children’s Director know that I think it’s something we should order to put in our stacks.
“The Twilight Walker” by Nic Minnella is the 3rd book in “The Guardian Cats” series, and was an absolute FUN read for me. I personally specialize in middle-grade sci-fi and fantasy/adventure book recommendations for our young readers, and I enjoyed this book from beginning to end! It felt like a perfect mix of mystery and adventure with a decent-sized dose of the supernatural thrown in. I immediately knew of some young readers I could recommend it to.
Some things to note:
The book itself seems to center around a Native American legend… I’m unsure if the legend in the book is actually based on a real-life Native Legend or if it’s made up just for the book… That was never made entirely clear. The two characters (both side characters) who are Natives in the story never reveal what tribe they are from, and it may be that this was done purposefully to protect the integrity of the legend itself, as well as to respect the legends and traditions of actual Natives… I’m unsure. Either way, I thought the mystery behind the legend and the way the story plays out around and through it was excellently handled. Also, according to what I’ve learned in research after having read it, the book seems to have gone through several sensitivity readers who also seemed to have approved it. The legend (whether made up or real) seemed based around the idea of skin-walkers and the Spirit World, though those things were never specifically mentioned as such.
*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS OF THE END OF THE BOOK***
There was a part near the end of the book where I had certain questions raised… Near the end of the story, the heroes have to perform a ritual to basically save the world (in so many words). The ritual was said to have been a form of respectfully sending spirits on to the Beyond, and it was stated at one point that it needed to be done every year at the same time… but unfortunately the ritual itself had been done wrong for almost 2 centuries and the heroes had to do the ritual themselves in the correct way in order to fix the problem and save everybody. THAT SAID, once the ritual was done, the heroes all returned to their regular lives… and I couldn’t help but wonder if the ritual still needed to be done every year at the same time, or if - after 200 years - it no longer needed to be done at all? This was never explained… and most likely no one in the story itself would know for certain if it still needed to be done or not. However, the fact that this part of the story was left open raised all sorts of questions in my head.
The Main Character of the book proved to be an interesting character in my mind. He was simply written (perfect for an 11 year old protagonist in a middle grade book), and the dynamic between him and his family (and all of the tension and drama that that involved) was handled well IMO for a middle grade character and protagonist, especially when it came down to the tension between him and his older brother; that particular dynamic felt especially realistic for fictional siblings.
However, one interesting thing I noted about the young Main Character was how the family seemed to tip-toe around him and even try to overprotect him. There were several hints throughout the book (though particularly noted in a conversation later in the story between him and his brother) that the Main Character might be Neurodivergent… possibly on the Spectrum? However, this was never explicitly said or explained, which - as a neurodivergent reader myself - I felt slightly confused by; I was unsure how exactly I was supposed to relate to what I was witnessing in his character, and also unsure how I was supposed to “read” his interactions with his family or his family’s interactions with him around this “unexplained” behavior. It wasn’t until later in the book - and particularly that conversation between him and his brother - that I started to guess at the reasons for these odd interactions. I personally would have preferred having some of this actually explained earlier as I believe it would have made a lot of these interactions and behaviors make more sense. I, by no means, represent any kind of majority of neurodivergent readers on my own, but I don’t think it's necessary to shy away from a simple - perhaps even short - explanation of such things if that is actually something a character is dealing with. Personally, I feel like avoiding such distinction if characters are dealing with this - if only in brief - can be confusing, and perhaps not particularly useful. But again, that’s only my personal beliefs.
As this is an ARC and not particularly a final product, there were a few minor inconsistencies I noticed in the text. One was a slip from 3rd Person Past Tense POV to Third Person Present Tense POV. Another I noted had to do with something the Twilight Walker himself had said… where at one point he’d insisted that only the Main Character (and less possibly the Native side character) could take his place, at another point in the story after sending the main character away on a short quest, he was overheard saying that either the Native Side Character or the Brother would have to take his place… it was a bit confusing and I’m not sure that was meant to slip in, but that’s how I understood the situation and it made me pause.
With these other points in mind, I still give this story a SOLID 4 stars out of 5. It was fast-paced, easy to read, and absolutely engaging. I LOVED the use of the cats in the book, and think this series could potentially intrigue young readers who are fans of the Warriors Series, or honestly who just like cats in general. The story didn’t entirely center around the cats, but the cats were integral enough to the story’s success that it wouldn’t be the same at all if not for them.
ALSO, this is the 3rd book in a series, which I didn’t know when I picked it up, and the book itself absolutely read as a stand-alone. Upon looking into it further, it seems that the first and second book also read as standalones, with different characters throughout. I love this. It means that a young reader can start anywhere in the series and not have to worry about whether they’ve read the first book or not. It makes it so much easier to suggest these books to certain types of readers! I quickly picked up the first and second books for my own collection and plan to tell my Children’s Director to get the entire series if she can!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Yesterday I read The Twilght Walker by Nic Minnella.
Young Finn and his brother Matt are on a camping trip with his parents and another family they are closer with. Finn is not a fan of camping. He deals with difficulties, feeling overstimulated and having trouble regulating his emotions and prefers the comfort of his own home a more quiet, familiar comfortable place. Finn and Matt are also changed by some health and marital issues that their parents have been dealing with which they have not successfully kept fully hidden from their boys. Finn has his constant companion cat Pepper with them.
Everyone is telling ghost stories on the campfire. But of course, with any ghost stories, any folklore,… How much truth is in the tale?
This book was done so well! I believe it is the third book in a series that includes a guardian cat. They are all standalone. I will make sure to pick up the rest.
I love to rotate in some child, middle school and young adult books into my reading and reviews. It is so important to encourage our children to be reading!
This book is perfect for children who may want to dip their toe into some scary stories and are also mature enough to be able to handle some aspects of loss and challenging family dynamics. Everything is presented in a gentle, easily understood way, non-traumatic. And the story itself is very engaging. The characters are so easy to become invested in. It has all the check boxes of a very good adult horror ghost story adventure, but told from the beautiful eyes and heart of children, which makes it so special.
Highly recommended
I received an advanced copy from the author. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Young Finn and his brother Matt are on a camping trip with his parents and another family they are closer with. Finn is not a fan of camping. He deals with difficulties, feeling overstimulated and having trouble regulating his emotions and prefers the comfort of his own home a more quiet, familiar comfortable place. Finn and Matt are also changed by some health and marital issues that their parents have been dealing with which they have not successfully kept fully hidden from their boys. Finn has his constant companion cat Pepper with them.
Everyone is telling ghost stories on the campfire. But of course, with any ghost stories, any folklore,… How much truth is in the tale?
This book was done so well! I believe it is the third book in a series that includes a guardian cat. They are all standalone. I will make sure to pick up the rest.
I love to rotate in some child, middle school and young adult books into my reading and reviews. It is so important to encourage our children to be reading!
This book is perfect for children who may want to dip their toe into some scary stories and are also mature enough to be able to handle some aspects of loss and challenging family dynamics. Everything is presented in a gentle, easily understood way, non-traumatic. And the story itself is very engaging. The characters are so easy to become invested in. It has all the check boxes of a very good adult horror ghost story adventure, but told from the beautiful eyes and heart of children, which makes it so special.
Highly recommended
I received an advanced copy from the author. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Review of advance copy received from Author
A family adventure in a spooky forest for kids who enjoy goosebumps while discovering a hidden mystery.
Navigating in an unknown forest can be spooky on its own, but when Finn’s Mom is not herself after disappearing for a few hours, then it becomes really spooky.
Finn and his cat, Pepper soon feel something is really off. As they go deeper in the wilderness, Finn has to work with Matt, his older brother, overcoming their personal challenges. The dynamic of their relationship is alive and messy, but their bond is strong underneath.
Their friend, Maya needs to make peace with her aboriginal roots and accept her heritage to help them to reunite their family.
I loved how Maya’s father and grandmother support the kids, yes to competent and supportive adults!
The geography of their journey in the wilderness was not easy to follow, but if anything, it added to the spookiness.
A very well written book about family, ancient mystery, tribal magic, and making things right again.
And while the characters long to return to their comfortable modern life, hopefully the book opens readers’ hearts to discover the forests around them.
Navigating in an unknown forest can be spooky on its own, but when Finn’s Mom is not herself after disappearing for a few hours, then it becomes really spooky.
Finn and his cat, Pepper soon feel something is really off. As they go deeper in the wilderness, Finn has to work with Matt, his older brother, overcoming their personal challenges. The dynamic of their relationship is alive and messy, but their bond is strong underneath.
Their friend, Maya needs to make peace with her aboriginal roots and accept her heritage to help them to reunite their family.
I loved how Maya’s father and grandmother support the kids, yes to competent and supportive adults!
The geography of their journey in the wilderness was not easy to follow, but if anything, it added to the spookiness.
A very well written book about family, ancient mystery, tribal magic, and making things right again.
And while the characters long to return to their comfortable modern life, hopefully the book opens readers’ hearts to discover the forests around them.
June 20, 2026
From the start of the book we can tell that this is a family in a bit of a crisis, though they are trying to enjoy time as a family on a camping trip. Finn pretty clearly struggles with aspects of anxiety and his older brother Matt is more interested in girls than spending time with him - plus dealing with his own baggage after a tough period the family went through. Their parents are fighting pretty constantly, so there is a lot of tension from the get go.
A round of ghost stories leads to some odd events and their mom going missing for a while, when they find her something is off and that's really the beginning of the mystery. Finn and Matt, with the help of Pepper their cat struggle through the perils of the forest, mostly supernatural, to unravel the mystery of what happens to their parents.
As they progress they slowly start to understand each other more and some truths are spoken. By the end of the book, not only have they solved the mystery of the Twilight Walker, but they've managed to come back together as a family. It's a great read and I'm interested to pick up the previous installments in the series.
A round of ghost stories leads to some odd events and their mom going missing for a while, when they find her something is off and that's really the beginning of the mystery. Finn and Matt, with the help of Pepper their cat struggle through the perils of the forest, mostly supernatural, to unravel the mystery of what happens to their parents.
As they progress they slowly start to understand each other more and some truths are spoken. By the end of the book, not only have they solved the mystery of the Twilight Walker, but they've managed to come back together as a family. It's a great read and I'm interested to pick up the previous installments in the series.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Flynn, his cat and his family are off on another adventure in The Twilight Walker. This time they are camping with friends in what is to be a good camping area that has been deemed spooky by a legend, his friends family has brought down for generations.
Flynn, his cat, brother and friend journey to find out whether this legend is true and save his parents from whatever is called the The Twilight Walker.
Join them on their adventure to discover what they find and see if they can discover the truth behind the legend.
Flynn, his cat, brother and friend journey to find out whether this legend is true and save his parents from whatever is called the The Twilight Walker.
Join them on their adventure to discover what they find and see if they can discover the truth behind the legend.
June 16, 2026
This is a good book for any middle schoolers that are starting to get into spookier stories. Finn and his family, along with some family friends (and his cat, Pepper) go on a camping trip. Things begin to get strange when Finn notices his mom acting weird & doing things she doesn’t normally do. I don’t want to give too much away, but the rest of the story involves haunted woods, ancient curses, and odd characters. It’s a spooky but fun and engaging read!
*Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this advanced copy*
*Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this advanced copy*
Review of advance copy
The Twilight Walker is Book 3 in Guardian Cats Series by Nice Minnella. Although this series is geared for middle school and up, as an adult, I loved this book. It was exciting Finn along with his cat, Pepper, are wonderful characters. At first, only Finn realized that mom was replaced by fake mom. The rest of the story was exciting with a perfect ending. I believe that this series is for readers of all ages. I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy
This was a great book for adults abd kiddos alike imo. It has a lesson in it too, if you care to see it. I thought it was a suspenseful and interesting read. It kept me locked into the subject turning pages to see what magic was happening. The ending made me happy with a few happy sparkles leaking from my face! Lol. I voluntarily read a free copy of this book provided by book sirens and am giving an honest review. I recommend this read adult and kiddo friendly.
August 7, 2026
I really enjoyed this book, and it was a good spooky read for the 10-12 age range. It has nice Campfire Story/Halloween vibes, and ties in good characters and internal conflicts. Finn and his brother Matt seem like real siblings, caring about each other but clashing a lot over misunderstandings, family dynamics, and responsibilities. I'd recommend to kids in this age range who like slightly creepy but not too scary books.
Review of advance copy
I loved this novella! Great story, good characters, atmospheric, sibling issues, and some spooky stuff thrown in. Perfect for middle-school age (and adults too!). Now I want to read the first two books in the Guardian Cats series.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 8, 2026
Great Series!!!
Just finished the 3rd Guardian Cats book. Each book is completely different. I enjoyed how this book had characters of all ages in it & how they learned to understand each other, plus learn of their families' past.
I really loved the Guardian Cats most of all!!!
Just finished the 3rd Guardian Cats book. Each book is completely different. I enjoyed how this book had characters of all ages in it & how they learned to understand each other, plus learn of their families' past.
I really loved the Guardian Cats most of all!!!
September 27, 2026
Nic Minnella This does a great job in writing this type of say who's Bruce Wayne I really enjoyed the way the story progressed and how good everything flowed together. The characters were what I was hoping for when I requested this and it was everything that I wanted based on the description.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 21, 2026
(mild spoilers)
I tore through this book. It was so good! Coraline meets Stranger Things. Exciting, thrilling, full of mystery. Might be a bit too much for some kids (could be too scary [ghosts, fake parents, etc.], and also had some mild language, so just know your kid well before giving it to them), but I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I tore through this book. It was so good! Coraline meets Stranger Things. Exciting, thrilling, full of mystery. Might be a bit too much for some kids (could be too scary [ghosts, fake parents, etc.], and also had some mild language, so just know your kid well before giving it to them), but I thoroughly enjoyed it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews