A group of teenagers takes on an ancient myth in the third of Cameron’s Young Explorers Adventure series (after Phantom Express). C.J., Scotty, Sadie, and Laura—members of the Young Explorers on an adventure to Scotland’s MacGregor Castle in 1919—are ecstatic to be part of a new expedition to renovate a historical castle, despite the rumors that the castle’s haunted. Upon their arrival, they meet the MacGregor family, including Lord MacGregor’s two children, Mollie and Keir, and a strange red-haired girl named Greer, granddaughter to a village woman, Morag, who warns the group that evil’s lurking near the MacGregor home. That warning foreshadows a deadly battle for the kids and their parents, as a long-dead curse is awakened and set loose, bent on destroying the MacGregor family once and for all.

Steeped in myth and adventure like the series’ earlier entries, the Scottish Knight boasts plenty of action and historical lore. The Young Explorers are quickly ensnared in the curses plaguing the MacGregors, as the renovation unearths an eerie suit of armor that turns up missing shortly after it’s discovered. When the armor later goes on the hunt—taking down Lord MacGregor in the process—it seems that ancient curse has some truth to it, especially when Morag foretells that it’s the Scottish Knight, returned to enact death on the MacGregors because “evil runs in [their] veins.” The curse—traced back to one of the early MacGregor lords who murdered a local woman accused of witchcraft—soon poses a threat to the entire group, when the ghostly knight turns on them all.

Cameron evokes the steadfast loyalty of young friends throughout the story’s deadly chases and chilling attacks—and that camaraderie eventually saves the day, of course, in a savvy and unpredictable plan hatched by the Young Explorers. The ending, though suspenseful, becomes cumbersome in its plotting, but middle grade readers will still relish this spirited escapade.

Takeaway: Ancient curses and intense action keep this adventure’s pages turning.

Comparable Titles: Shannon L. Brown’s The Crime-Solving Cousins Mysteries series, Jonathan W. Stokes’s Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A-