The Lad in the Lane

Reviews / Votes

Supernaturally gifted sisters team up to prevent
injustice in the mystery novel The Lad in the Lane, a story about
fighting unfairness with the truth.

Sisters partner with their neighbors to fight an unfair
housing redevelopment in Warren Cabral's inventive mystery novel The
Lad in the Lane.

While camping during a storm, Mae and Isla have a
supernatural vision of a boy dressed in historical clothing. Meanwhile, their
grandmother's street is repossessed for a planned business park, and one of her
acquaintances seeks the girls' help to prove his ownership of the land. Soon,
they realize that the boy they saw is crucial to their search.

The land rights at the center of the story, all related to
manor properties, are a somewhat esoteric topic. However, explanations about
them are proffered in brisk conversations among the story's adults; the fact
that the girls' grandmother and her neighbors' homes are at risk is thus
established in clear terms. Mae and Isla take a practical approach to the
problem, spearheading a campaign to save the land with their classmates. Mae's
habit of turning information into rhyming verse so as to better remember it and
Isla's talent for drawing fold into their social media and community protest.

The girls are precocious heroines, developed in terms of
their concern for others, their curiosity, and their sisterly closeness. The
latter is deepened by their telepathic abilities. Their parents are somewhat
bewildered by them but also indulge their gifts. Heightened descriptions
intensify the sense of who each person is: Mae is a "fiery little girl" with
"flame-coloured hair to match her scorching words"; a man's aftershave is
"stratospherically expensive but ghastly smelling."

The Lake District setting is developed through mentions of
Radio Cumbria, sites including Wray Castle, a lakeside beach, and a rainy
atmosphere. Indeed, the worldbuilding is quite picturesque. A man's ancestral
roots are a key factor in solving the mystery, and searches for grave markers
flesh out the area further. In this small town, community life is inseparable
from its rich history.

The illustrations depict the main characters with varying
degrees of success: A drawing of Isla reading on a rug is sharp; in group
settings, people are rendered in rougher terms, as when the girls and their
father crowd inside a tent. Some discrepancies arise too: The text describes a
black Mercedes, but the illustrations feature a red one.

With a greedy, comical villain as their main obstacle,
there's little doubt that the girls will triumph in time. While their
happenstance discovery of proof shortchanges their ingenuity, their hunt for a
land deed is exciting. That they rally to help their elders is also
heartwarming, ensuring interest in the girls' continuing story.

The Lad in the Lane is an engaging mystery novel
in which bright siblings with deep local ties are driven to solve a mystery by
their sense of fair play.

Reviewed for Foreword Clarion by Karen
Rigby

October 25, 2025




"With ghosts, castles, churches and graveyards in the Lake District setting, The Lad in the Lane makes for a good autumnal read. Corryn Webb's bright illustrations once again help to bring Mae and Isla's investigations to life." LoveReading4Kids