Grew up on Enid Blyton's and Roald Dahl's books and have fond memories of the imaginative stories to this day and which have turned me into the reader that I am. So when the chance came along to read a new addition I couldn't turn it down and really glad I fitted it into my to-read pile.
In short, loved this too and will go back to it when my little ones are a bit bigger. The new book maintains the same characters and much the same style, which is no mean feat considering the decades that have passed. The story was interesting and told with the typical enthusiasm and humour of the Secret Seven of old. Thank you.
5 stars from me.

Sophie and her son read The Secret Seven: Mystery of the Skull out loud together. This is the first official addition to Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven series since her death in 1968 and is written by Pamela Butchart, author of Baby Aliens Got My Teacher!

For those unfamiliar with the classic British series, the Secret Seven are a secret society of seven children, Peter, Janet, Jack, Barbara, George, Pam, and Colin, who go about solving mysteries and foiling criminals. Fifteen Secret Seven novels were originally published between 1949 and 1963 and they all follow the classic narrative where the children are smarter than most of the adults and are able to gather enough evidence to put a stop to whatever is going on. Often there is a hint of paranormal elements to the mysteries, but as in Scooby Doo, these always turn out to have a down-to-earth explanation.

In this new book, the seven kids investigate strange goings on surrounding the new owners of a local hotel. Why are they digging up the grounds, why is the restaurant only serving burnt fish pie, and what is causing the scratching noises coming from the top floor? As an adult, the big reveal was blindingly obvious, but Sophie’s eight-year-old was hooked.

Mystery of the Skull does nothing new or shocking to the Secret Seven universe. The characters and settings have remained the same although some of the language has clearly been brought up-to-date. The story also avoids anything which sets it in a specific time period, with no modern technology present (none of the Seven use smartphones or computers) but also nothing to place the book notably in the past.

Mystery of the Skull won’t convert anyone who doesn’t like the original series, but Secret Seven fans will love having a new adventure for their favorite detectives.

Enid Blyton’s beloved series The Secret Seven is back with a brand new adventure, Mystery of the Skull, based on Blyton’s original intrepid sleuth septet and written by Pamela Butchart.

I loved The Secret Seven and The Famous Five as a child and raced through all of the books, some more than once. With the exception of Roald Dahl’s books, no other books had such an enduring impact on my life. To this day, decades after I read them, I can still fondly remember sharing afternoons with the characters playing in copses full of tall grass and wild flowers or exploring old abandoned quarries and discovering hidden tunnels.

I would move on to the The Adventure series by age 10 or so, firmly choosing it as my favourite of all Enid Blyton’s series but it was The Secret Seven that started it all. This summer, 55 years after the final Secret Seven book was written, Hodder Children's Books hope to gain a whole new audience and are releasing the first ever official addition to the world of The Secret Seven.

Mystery of the Skull begins two weeks into the summer holidays when Janet and Peter return home from a fortnight with their gran. Peter discovers a skull in his bedroom and calls an urgent meeting of the Secret Seven. Where did the skull come from? How did it land up in Peter’s bedroom? And most importantly of all, what does this have to do with the new hotel down the road and its secretive proprietors?

With ample servings of sandwiches and cake, several moonlight adventures and significant levels of danger, this new adventure is a welcome return to a world that I never thought I’d visit again.

At first I was concerned that the book would feel dated, being that the originals were set in the 50s and 60s, or that the book would be obviously modernised but I was impressed to note that neither is the case. There is no obvious technology in the book but nothing to suggest that it couldn’t be set in the modern era either, making it accessible to a new generation of readers.

I don’t think this book (and others that I expect to follow in the series) will appeal as a children’s / adult crossover in the same way as the Harry Potter books have but it will appeal to the original fans of The Secret Seven and I think the innocence and simplicity of the story would be perfect for new readers aged 7 to 9.

For transporting me back to the world of my childhood and for a very clever story indeed, I give The Secret Seven: Mystery of the Skull by Pamela Butchart and Enid Blyton an excellent four out of five stars and would recommend to fans of Enid Blyton and to young readers. I will certainly be looking out for any new additions to the series.

I was so excited when I found out that Pamela Butchart had been asked to write more of Enid Blyton’s Secrect Seven stories. As I child I loved reading the adventures of the Famous Five and the Secret Seven. The new story Mystery of the Skull does not disappoint I loved it and can’t wait to get a paper copy for my daughter to read. Pamela has given more of a voice to the female characters which I love and gives it that modern edge. The Secret Seven find a mysterious skull near the hotel that’s has new very suspicious owners. Why are they digging holes? Why are they acting so strange? What are they really doing at the hotel? The Secret Seven decide to find out exactly what’s going on. Cue meetings in the shed, midnight bike rides, fancy dress costumes and pyjamas as the get to the bottom of the Mystery of the skull. I highly recommend this book. Great for ages 7-9

The Secret Seven are back! This took me back to my childhood and reading under the covers. Whilst out walking they find part of a skull. Being the Secret Seven one thing leads to another and soon they are on the trail of a suspicious couple running a seemingly fully booked hotel- with no guests and a tent over a hole which they are more than curious about. The friends as ever are imaginative in their sleuthing and always need extra snacks and drinks after any sort of adventure. This is a more modern version of the old classics and hence not quite in the same style as Enid Blyton’s wonderful books. Something was a little adrift. Great to have the format but just that je ne sais quoi missing. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed this but not quite as much as I thought I would. Maybe I have just got older( who knew!) ? Maybe this needs reading by today’s younger generation to see what they make of it. However I feel they would be asking questions such as“why didn’t they use a mobile phone” etc. A mixed bag.
(rest of links on publication day)

This book transported me straight back to my youth.  Whilst I was more a Famous Five fan rather than the Secret Seven, Enid Blyton created superb characters and her novels always had me hooked. When I started the story I was half excited and half scared in case Pamela Butchart could match her predecessor.  I needn't have worried.  The Mystery of the Skull was skilfully engaging and mysterious.  The baddies were enjoyably fearsome and the gang were just as great as ever.  It will have you reaching for a ginger beer though!

My daughter and I really enjoyed reading this together, it's not quite like the originals but you can't expect it to be - we particularly liked the idea of the secret society of children, and it led to lots of games around the house about finding treasures and solving mysteries.

I have a memory of reading the famous five as a child and i thought that i would enjoy this. Unfortunately, i did not really like this book. I think the issue was down to me and my own hazy memory of enjoying Enid Blyton novels. I liked how the plot was on the lighter side and fitted in with the overall ideas that Blyton showed in her fiction but this was one book were i felt too old for it.

It’s two weeks into the summer holidays, and Peter has called an emergency meeting of The Secret Seven. After returning from Scotland, he discovered an object in his bedroom – a skull with his name written inside! The gang quickly discover Jack’s little sister, Susie, was responsible for placing it in his room, but where did she get it from? As the Secret Seven investigate, they find that one mystery leads to another, and things get very dangerous indeed!

A charming new addition to the Secret Seven Stories (the first for 55 years), full of good old fashioned sleuthing, friendship and teamwork without a phone or games console in sight! Peter, Janet, Jack, Colin, George, Pam and Barbara are in fine hands with Pamela Butchart, who retains the original spirit of the stories, while her humour shines through in the children’s interactions. Plenty of giggles are interspersed between the investigating and the threat of being caught is never far away within the well placed plot.

For readers new to the series, the individual characters shine through; Peter is definitely in charge, Janet is the brains, Jack is still eating anything he can lay his hands on, and George needs to keep up! Pam and Barbara shine as the bubbly, outgoing sisters, and Colin, well he’s always there quietly in the background, as is Scamper who can still sniff anything out.And, Peter and Janet’s mum is still providing snacks to keep them going through their adventures.

My 8 year old self would definitely have popped out on my bike to pick a copy of this up from my local bookshop!

Ebook proof courtesy of Hodder Children’s Books via Netgalley

Not quite the Enid writing I remember but a good story for children without divorce, death or depression. Maybe a freshing change to modern story lines told with adventure and daring do .

This is definitely not set in the same time as the original stories. The mystery is fine, I guess, but it's not a real Secret Seven story. It should be marketed like the Diary of the Naughtiest Girl, as an update.

Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.