On Halloween, Mandy and her parents are taking care of a friend's veterinary clinic. She is eager to explore the countryside, said to be haunted by a ghostly horse and rider, but she discovers the pair is much more earthly and trying to scare people.
Someone is trying desperately to scare people from the area nicknamed "Spooky Hollow" by locals.
Ben M. Baglio created the brief for two series of children's books - Dolphin Diaries and Animal Ark. Dolphin Diaries features a girl and her family from Florida, who travel around the world as marine biologists and study dolphins. Animal Ark features two children who work together to help animals and solve animal-related mysteries. The books were written by commissioned writers in the UK under Baglio's instruction using the pseudonym Lucy Daniels. Each ghostwriter is named with a 'Special Thanks' on the copyright page.
Using his real name he also wrote the book series The Pet Finders Club, featuring a group of three children who search for peoples lost pets.
I've read several books from this series. I really like all of them. All of the books have a subplot. This one, however, misses the mark. It includes all of the regular characters like Mandy, Dr. Adam, and Dr. Emily. The subplot in this one overshadows the main storyline. That is a problem in and of itself, but especially because it's about reptiles. I'm not that fond of reptiles and don't consider them cute and cuddly pets. I agree with the undertone of their preservation and conservation, but cute they are not. If your child is wanting to read about a majestic stallion with a spooky twist, this is not it. If your child likes reptiles and loves horses, then this is the perfect story for them.
My daughter brought this back from the library and we read it over many nights. The main character, Mandy, is the daughter of a veterinarian, and she loves helping animals. She and her parents have traveled to an old smuggling town on the coast, where they're managing the veterinary practice of another family who have gone on vacation. While there, Mandy sees what appears to be a cloaked smuggler on a ghostly white horse in the fog. Then dehydrated rare lizards start showing up around town. Is there a modern-day exotic pet smuggling operation going on in Spooky Hollow? And what's up with the ghost horse & rider?
The story is warm-hearted. For my 6-year-old the subject matter is interesting and introduces concepts she hasn't encountered before, which gives us stuff to talk about. ("What IS a smuggler?" "Where do Komodo Dragons come from?" "Can I learn to take care of a horse?")