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The Mystery of Castle Croome
"And why," bellowed the man in the kilt, "do you think I'll allow you inside? Croome Castle isn't open to stray visitors, and it's never likely to be."
But Molly Stewart is not a casual visitor. Croome Castle is her home now, willed to her by her Scottish great-uncle. Why is the caretaker so hostile? And who are the mysterious paying guests he allows to stay there? What is the secret that lies buried deep in the dungeons beneath Castle Croome?
But Molly Stewart is not a casual visitor. Croome Castle is her home now, willed to her by her Scottish great-uncle. Why is the caretaker so hostile? And who are the mysterious paying guests he allows to stay there? What is the secret that lies buried deep in the dungeons beneath Castle Croome?
191 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1966
2 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Hilda Boden
69 books2 followersHilda Boden, real name Hilda Morris Bodenham, was born in 1901. She enjoyed a long tradition of storytelling, and would relate tales to her own children. It was not until they left home that she had the time to write professionally, and began producing magazine articles about ponies and dogs.
Her children's stories are generally based around ponies, some incorporating a mystery theme. They are simplistic, plot-wise, but entertaining for those interested in the countryside or old Welsh farming methods. She also dabbled with more exotic locations, producing a series of works set in Australia after her son's emigration.
Her children's stories are generally based around ponies, some incorporating a mystery theme. They are simplistic, plot-wise, but entertaining for those interested in the countryside or old Welsh farming methods. She also dabbled with more exotic locations, producing a series of works set in Australia after her son's emigration.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 21, 2025
3 (Bad)
Don't bother.
Don't bother.
August 30, 2015
I first read this book when I was about 10 or 11 years old, and I had such a strong memory of it that from time to time I'd do a quick search of the Internet hoping to find a copy. Of course it would have helped if I had the right title. For some reason I kept thinking that the book was called The Mystery of Castle Keep. It wasn't until recently that I learned of the correct title, and was able to buy an old library copy from Amazon.
When the book arrived I was very excited to see that it still had the library card pocket, with the first stamp dated Sept 29, 1969, and the last stamp dated Nov 10, 2003. Sometime after that it left the school library where it had been sitting on a shelf, and made its way to Amazon. I'm very happy to have this little bit of my childhood on my shelf now, but I was wavering on whether or not to read it. I didn't want to be disappointed. When going back to a book that is remembered so fondly, I think many of us have that little nagging voice in our head that asks.."what if I don't like it now", or "what if I remembered it differently"? I was too curious - I had to read it.
How did it hold up? I was not disappointed!
The story begins with three college friends traveling from Oxford, England to Croome Castle in Scotland. Two of the girls, Pat and Penny, are sisters; twins in fact. The other girl, Molly, has inherited Croome Castle from her great uncle. Molly's parents have died, and became estranged from the uncle when her father, a British citizen, married an American and later became an American citizen himself. Molly, an American studying in the U.K., is not so sure what she's going to do with a castle, but she needs to see it for herself.
From the moment the three girls arrive at the castle, the caretaker, Jamie Campbell, goes out of his way to make them uncomfortable. He's angry because he believed that he would inherit the castle. He'd been taking care of the place and her uncle for a number of years and felt that he should be the rightful owner. When it becomes clear that he would not inherit, he offers to buy the castle from Molly. But Molly is standing firm, she's not ready to make a decision until she's inspected the place and has seen for herself what it might be like to live in the castle.
To say that Molly is disappointed in the condition of the castle is an understatement. The place is filthy and empty of most of its furnishings, and there are obvious empty spaces on the walls where paintings and artwork once hung. Jamie is defensive, and tells Molly that with no money coming in her uncle had no choice but to sell anything of value. To top it all off, Jamie then explains that the generator that delivers electricity to the house is no longer working, so they will be living with candles, oil lanterns, and no hot water. The girls are a little deflated, but still enthusiastic, and begin to clean the place up and try to make themselves comfortable.
From there a mystery starts to unfold, and the girls find themselves in an adventure. There are creepy noises at night, a dangerous muddy bog, and what might be a ghost. But, the girls do make some friends when they meet a group of sea scouts. A group of young men, similar to the Boy Scouts, come to their aid and help them figure out how to get food and other provisions to the castle.
It's a cute story with just enough adventure and mystery to have kept me entertained as a 10 or 11 year old, and even today I was interested in seeing how the story ended, as I obviously couldn't remember much of the plot. There are some things about the book that may seem a bit outdated for kids today, but remember it was written in 1966. For example, the language is a bit formal. I don't think you'd see kids today speaking like Molly and her two friends. They use "perhaps" and "shall" a lot.
What I loved about the book, and it's more than likely what appealed to me as a young girl, was how these three young women took charge and didn't let anything dissuade them from getting things done. But it was the 60’s after all, so when I read the line: "this isn't a matter for girls to cope with on their own", after the girls have been rescued by the scouts, I only cringed a little. You've come a long way baby!
Overall, I'm so glad I found this book, and really did enjoy reading it again. I do recommend it, even though it may be hard to find, and I think younger kids today might find it fun.
When the book arrived I was very excited to see that it still had the library card pocket, with the first stamp dated Sept 29, 1969, and the last stamp dated Nov 10, 2003. Sometime after that it left the school library where it had been sitting on a shelf, and made its way to Amazon. I'm very happy to have this little bit of my childhood on my shelf now, but I was wavering on whether or not to read it. I didn't want to be disappointed. When going back to a book that is remembered so fondly, I think many of us have that little nagging voice in our head that asks.."what if I don't like it now", or "what if I remembered it differently"? I was too curious - I had to read it.
How did it hold up? I was not disappointed!
The story begins with three college friends traveling from Oxford, England to Croome Castle in Scotland. Two of the girls, Pat and Penny, are sisters; twins in fact. The other girl, Molly, has inherited Croome Castle from her great uncle. Molly's parents have died, and became estranged from the uncle when her father, a British citizen, married an American and later became an American citizen himself. Molly, an American studying in the U.K., is not so sure what she's going to do with a castle, but she needs to see it for herself.
From the moment the three girls arrive at the castle, the caretaker, Jamie Campbell, goes out of his way to make them uncomfortable. He's angry because he believed that he would inherit the castle. He'd been taking care of the place and her uncle for a number of years and felt that he should be the rightful owner. When it becomes clear that he would not inherit, he offers to buy the castle from Molly. But Molly is standing firm, she's not ready to make a decision until she's inspected the place and has seen for herself what it might be like to live in the castle.
To say that Molly is disappointed in the condition of the castle is an understatement. The place is filthy and empty of most of its furnishings, and there are obvious empty spaces on the walls where paintings and artwork once hung. Jamie is defensive, and tells Molly that with no money coming in her uncle had no choice but to sell anything of value. To top it all off, Jamie then explains that the generator that delivers electricity to the house is no longer working, so they will be living with candles, oil lanterns, and no hot water. The girls are a little deflated, but still enthusiastic, and begin to clean the place up and try to make themselves comfortable.
From there a mystery starts to unfold, and the girls find themselves in an adventure. There are creepy noises at night, a dangerous muddy bog, and what might be a ghost. But, the girls do make some friends when they meet a group of sea scouts. A group of young men, similar to the Boy Scouts, come to their aid and help them figure out how to get food and other provisions to the castle.
It's a cute story with just enough adventure and mystery to have kept me entertained as a 10 or 11 year old, and even today I was interested in seeing how the story ended, as I obviously couldn't remember much of the plot. There are some things about the book that may seem a bit outdated for kids today, but remember it was written in 1966. For example, the language is a bit formal. I don't think you'd see kids today speaking like Molly and her two friends. They use "perhaps" and "shall" a lot.
What I loved about the book, and it's more than likely what appealed to me as a young girl, was how these three young women took charge and didn't let anything dissuade them from getting things done. But it was the 60’s after all, so when I read the line: "this isn't a matter for girls to cope with on their own", after the girls have been rescued by the scouts, I only cringed a little. You've come a long way baby!
Overall, I'm so glad I found this book, and really did enjoy reading it again. I do recommend it, even though it may be hard to find, and I think younger kids today might find it fun.
January 25, 2026
Reread of an old favorite. American Molly Stewart, studying at Oxford, is astonished to learn that she has inherited her great-uncle's castle in Scotland. With her friends, twins Penny and Pat Roderick, she goes to investigate, only to discover a surly caretaker, missing furnishings, and a supposedly broken generator. But Molly and her friends are determined to get to the bottom of things, with the help of a troop of nearby sea scouts. Interesting characters and a clever plot make this fast-paced book hard to put down.
June 28, 2019
I read this for the first time many years ago when it was a genre intended for my age bracket. As teen or young adult mysteries go, it is effective. It portrays confident young women who display fortitude, knowledge, and courage. Some or all of them experience true danger, and there is sufficient hint of romance (for a book whose genre is not romance) for teen readers focused on that area in their own dreams and wishes.
October 12, 2019
The Myster of Castle Crooked is one of my favorite reeds. I read this book thirty or fourty years ago when I was a substitute teacher at a local junior high school.
I remembered and enjoyed it so much that I just recently requested it from my library. It was as good as I had remembered.
I remembered and enjoyed it so much that I just recently requested it from my library. It was as good as I had remembered.
December 31, 2015
This one surprised me! It's the same age as the second book in this post, but it has aged so much better. First of all, I'm not entirely sure how to categorize this one. The library classified it as J for Juvenile, but considering the first stamp is from 1986, the library may simply not have had a YA section at a time, and therefore lumped all books under the Juvenile heading. The three main characters are in their final year of college, so much older than most middle grade or even modern young adult books. Read the rest on my blog.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews