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The Dinswood Chronicles #2
The Missing Mortals
It seemed like an impossible task but the instructions left no doubt—find the Missing Mortals or someone will die. In the year 1712, Darius Dinswood commissioned famous sculptor Luciano Marnatti to sculpt seven pieces as gifts for his beloved wife Rebecca. The subjects of the sculptures were women of the Bible that Rebecca admired. Marnatti collectively referred to them as The Mortals. When Rebecca died unexpectedly after giving birth to her first child, the sculptures mysteriously disappeared. Legend had it that Darius destroyed them in a fit of grief. Three centuries later while digging the foundation for Dinswood Academy’s new gymnasium, one of the sculptures is discovered. Convinced that the other six Mortals also survived the centuries, Lord Dinswood, founder of the academy and descendant of Darius Dinswood, assigns Emma and her friends the task of finding them. What begins as a fun adventure quickly turns into a desperate search when the youngsters receive a threatening note that makes it clear that lives depend on their success.
496 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2015
1 person is currently reading
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 31, 2020
I received a complimentary copy of this Ebook ARC from the author, publisher, and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Doug, Sebastien and friends are back in a brand new adventure. When they return to Dinnswood academy early, Lord Dinnswood asks for their help in retrieving clay statuettes of biblical women from the bible that belongs to his family called "The Missing Mortals". Can the children find the statues and stay out of danger by doing so? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a great installment of the Dinnswood Academy series. Fans of action-packed stories set at school and enjoy mysteries and puzzle-solving adventures will enjoy this series. Be sure to check out Book II of this series when it officially comes to bookstores and wherever ebooks are sold on February 6,2020.
Doug, Sebastien and friends are back in a brand new adventure. When they return to Dinnswood academy early, Lord Dinnswood asks for their help in retrieving clay statuettes of biblical women from the bible that belongs to his family called "The Missing Mortals". Can the children find the statues and stay out of danger by doing so? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a great installment of the Dinnswood Academy series. Fans of action-packed stories set at school and enjoy mysteries and puzzle-solving adventures will enjoy this series. Be sure to check out Book II of this series when it officially comes to bookstores and wherever ebooks are sold on February 6,2020.
March 22, 2020
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
I really loved the first Dinswood book, The Secret of Dinswood – because it was a story of kids in a school that’s in a castle, solving all sorts of pirate related mysteries and looking for treasure! Super exciting.
But it was harder to get into the second book, The Missing Mortals. First of all, because I felt like it didn’t kick in for a very long time – even though the initial mystery was set, somehow things just didn’t get a move on. A lot of the book is dedicated to the internal teen and pre-teen struggles of the characters – there are now themes of jealousy between the two main characters, Emma and Doug, despite them not really having a relationship yet, and there’s also romantic tension between the two other main characters.
That’s all good – however, I feel like it’s a tough age to write – the characters are still to young for a relationship (at least in the author’s eyes), but they’re old enough for the angst. I didn’t enjoy that part of it very much, because what I look for in a middle grade is the lightness – the absence of angst, but I do admit that for a lot of pre-teens this might be an important topic, so it’s probably just me. But it’s not only that – the story itself is quite a bit darker than the first one as well – the kids get threatened and blackmailed and it was just a little too stressful for me, I guess.
Another thing that I didn’t enjoy was something that I felt was mostly absent in the first book – the second book was a lot more “cloyingly Christian” than the first one was. It’s still not as bad as it may be, but “the kids could see it was all by the grace of god” or stuff like that – that’s just not my thing. Long story short, if you’re not Christian, you’ll probably feel alienated and roll your eyes. The first book felt much more accessible to everyone.
Despite all this though, I still hope the series goes on! I would like to know what happens next, although I guess the series will probably be leaving the middle grade setting and move up to young adult (and this could have even been the book that bridges the gap). Either way, I’m interested in seeing where the story goes!
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
I really loved the first Dinswood book, The Secret of Dinswood – because it was a story of kids in a school that’s in a castle, solving all sorts of pirate related mysteries and looking for treasure! Super exciting.
But it was harder to get into the second book, The Missing Mortals. First of all, because I felt like it didn’t kick in for a very long time – even though the initial mystery was set, somehow things just didn’t get a move on. A lot of the book is dedicated to the internal teen and pre-teen struggles of the characters – there are now themes of jealousy between the two main characters, Emma and Doug, despite them not really having a relationship yet, and there’s also romantic tension between the two other main characters.
That’s all good – however, I feel like it’s a tough age to write – the characters are still to young for a relationship (at least in the author’s eyes), but they’re old enough for the angst. I didn’t enjoy that part of it very much, because what I look for in a middle grade is the lightness – the absence of angst, but I do admit that for a lot of pre-teens this might be an important topic, so it’s probably just me. But it’s not only that – the story itself is quite a bit darker than the first one as well – the kids get threatened and blackmailed and it was just a little too stressful for me, I guess.
Another thing that I didn’t enjoy was something that I felt was mostly absent in the first book – the second book was a lot more “cloyingly Christian” than the first one was. It’s still not as bad as it may be, but “the kids could see it was all by the grace of god” or stuff like that – that’s just not my thing. Long story short, if you’re not Christian, you’ll probably feel alienated and roll your eyes. The first book felt much more accessible to everyone.
Despite all this though, I still hope the series goes on! I would like to know what happens next, although I guess the series will probably be leaving the middle grade setting and move up to young adult (and this could have even been the book that bridges the gap). Either way, I’m interested in seeing where the story goes!
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
February 17, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Missing Mortals by Ellen Alexander. I’ve voluntarily read and reviewed this copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Missing Mortals is the second book in the Dinswood Chronicles. When Emma and her friends return to Dinswood Academy for their second year, they once again find themselves in the middle of a quest to find The Missing Mortals at the request of Lord Dinswood. But it seems that Lord Dinswood is not the only one looking for The Missing Mortals. When Emma and her friend are being blackmailed into giving up the Mortals to an suspicious person, they find themselves in a race against the clock. How will Emma and her friends find all the Missing Mortals before something bad happens?
I very much enjoyed the first book: The Secret of Dinswood. So I was glad to get my hands on a copy of The Missing Mortals. Being a sequel, The Missing Mortals picks up the pace in the first half of the book. The stakes are high and suspense is built up nicely. Half way through the main premise falls a bit to the background and that’s when the story get’s a bit boring to me. Luckily it picks up again when the search for The Missing Mortals continues. I didn’t enjoyed this one as much as the first book, but it’s still a very entertaining story full of adventure and loveable characters.
A great middle grade story for anyone who loves uncovering mysteries.
The Missing Mortals is the second book in the Dinswood Chronicles. When Emma and her friends return to Dinswood Academy for their second year, they once again find themselves in the middle of a quest to find The Missing Mortals at the request of Lord Dinswood. But it seems that Lord Dinswood is not the only one looking for The Missing Mortals. When Emma and her friend are being blackmailed into giving up the Mortals to an suspicious person, they find themselves in a race against the clock. How will Emma and her friends find all the Missing Mortals before something bad happens?
I very much enjoyed the first book: The Secret of Dinswood. So I was glad to get my hands on a copy of The Missing Mortals. Being a sequel, The Missing Mortals picks up the pace in the first half of the book. The stakes are high and suspense is built up nicely. Half way through the main premise falls a bit to the background and that’s when the story get’s a bit boring to me. Luckily it picks up again when the search for The Missing Mortals continues. I didn’t enjoyed this one as much as the first book, but it’s still a very entertaining story full of adventure and loveable characters.
A great middle grade story for anyone who loves uncovering mysteries.
January 25, 2020
The Missing Mortals is the second novel in Ellen Alexander's series. I did not read the first novel and she refers enough to previous events that it is not necessary.
Four friends at the mysterious Dinswood Academy are tasked with finding seven missing statues of powerful biblical women. The four young kids are then dragged into a world of conspiracy and mystery as they navigate the social pressures of middle school, secret missions, and mysterious demands from an unknown figure.
The book was enjoyable, even if the characters are unbelievable as 8th graders. Overall I really enjoyed seeing how all of the elements of the novel connected.
Four friends at the mysterious Dinswood Academy are tasked with finding seven missing statues of powerful biblical women. The four young kids are then dragged into a world of conspiracy and mystery as they navigate the social pressures of middle school, secret missions, and mysterious demands from an unknown figure.
The book was enjoyable, even if the characters are unbelievable as 8th graders. Overall I really enjoyed seeing how all of the elements of the novel connected.
January 31, 2020
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
I did not read the first book in this series but I didn't need to as the author explained what happened in the first book, which is one of many things I loved about this book. The setting, plot and characters are all very well written. I found this book funny and extremely interesting. I really did feel like I was there with the characters going through everything they did. I can't wait to see if the gang are going to have another mystery to solve!
I did not read the first book in this series but I didn't need to as the author explained what happened in the first book, which is one of many things I loved about this book. The setting, plot and characters are all very well written. I found this book funny and extremely interesting. I really did feel like I was there with the characters going through everything they did. I can't wait to see if the gang are going to have another mystery to solve!
January 23, 2020
A fun read, witty and entertaining.
I didn't read the first book in this series but I had no issues with the plot or the characters.
It's well written and the fleshed out cast of characters is interesting.
Can't wait to read another story by this author.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I didn't read the first book in this series but I had no issues with the plot or the characters.
It's well written and the fleshed out cast of characters is interesting.
Can't wait to read another story by this author.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
January 25, 2020
I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't connect with it. I couldn't lose myself in the pages and so it just felt long. I didn't read the first book in the series, so maybe that had something to do with it.
Thank you to NetGalley and LibraryThing for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and LibraryThing for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
February 2, 2020
This one just didn't work for me. I wanted to love it but it was kind of in the middle ground for me. The story was ok and the characters were there but for the most part I just didn't connect with the story at all.
March 9, 2025
Would have liked this one as a teenager, o to be young again.
January 31, 2020
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
I did not read the first book in this series but I didn't need to as the author explained what happened in the first book, which is one of many things I loved about this book. The setting, plot and characters are all very well written. I found this book funny and extremely interesting. I really did feel like I was there with the characters going through everything they did. I can't wait to see if the gang are going to have another mystery to solve!
I did not read the first book in this series but I didn't need to as the author explained what happened in the first book, which is one of many things I loved about this book. The setting, plot and characters are all very well written. I found this book funny and extremely interesting. I really did feel like I was there with the characters going through everything they did. I can't wait to see if the gang are going to have another mystery to solve!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews