Charlie Bone and the Hidden King (Children of the Red King, #5)
by Jenny Nimmo

5 out of 5 stars

Charlie is dismayed to see that the Shadow in the Red King’s portrait has escaped from the frame. The Shadow is actually a powerful dark sorcerer who is putting the whole city under his spell. Charlie’s mother is a target, and Charlie must discover how the Shadow escaped and find a way to defeat or control him. A magical mirror has been stolen, and Charlie hopes that it could help him find his father, but first he must find the Red King and beg for his help.

These books just keep getting better and better! I love the little hints at a past for some of the characters, especially Bartholomew and Paton. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes that’s never revealed; it gives the imagination a lot to play with.

I really liked that Benjamin is back in this book, and his friendship with Charlie is a little strained at first because his dog Runner Bean has gone missing while in Charlie’s care. But they work it out, and they are best friends again. Charlie is so torn and pulled in many directions. He has a lot of complex relationships within his family and with the other endowed children, so that friends like Benjamin and Fidelio can sometimes feel left out. It was interesting to see all the layers of the relationships between the characters.

The bad guys give us quite a few surprises in this book. Manfred is developing a new magical power, and Asa is lurking in the background like a sad puppy. I loved the plotlines with the creepy sorcerer. His powers are formidable, but he’s no match for all the endowed children together.

The best part about this book is Charlie’s search for his missing father. It becomes really urgent to find his father as soon as possible, and there are these mystical hints that if they forget him, then Charlie’s father will be lost forever. So Charlie clings to the few hazy memories that he has of his father, and works frantically to find him. It’s really emotional and exciting to see this family that has been torn apart trying to find each other again. Just beautiful!

I have been loving rereading this series! It’s even better than I remembered!

This book has been screened on the Screen It First website. https://screenitfirst.com/book/charlie-bone-and-the-hidden-king-charlie-bone-5-1045660