Published By: Firefly
Pages: 254
Released On: 08/10/2026
Reading Age: 11+
When tragedy strikes close to home, Delores, Prudence and Gabriel are thrown into their darkest, most dangerous mystery yet.
The ghoulish victim of a decades old murder is hunting Delores down. Rage-filled and unpredictable, Temperance Darrow is screaming for justice from beyond the grave. Delores’ greatest challenge yet will take her and her friends from Edinburgh Old Town to far beyond the Arctic Circle chasing after a mysterious book, a legend and a killer.
But devious Fabian Vikander, Grand Master of the Paranormal High Council is watching, and Prudence’s unstable shapeshifting threatens to land them all in jail – or worse.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Firefly for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I love this series – starting with The Dark and Dangerous Gifts of Delores Mackenzie, followed with The Haunted Life of Delores Mackenzie.
This is apparently the final one in the series which is sad as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, regardless of being 3x the reading age.
I will always request that authors add a small bit at the start of any sequel just reminding the reader what happened previous in the story, because my memory is terrible and I read so many books that I often forget what came before. So it took me a little while to get back into the story but it still grabs you almost instantly.
A lot of series can be read as standalones, particularly children’s series, and there may be an argument for this but in my opinion I think you need to read it in order. Each book has its own main story but there are several underlying stories that you need to follow throughout and you’ll get more from the characters if you start with book one.
The majority of characters are children, and as an adult, child characters can be hard to relate to or build a connection with. Now I’m not going to say I can identify with magical children obviously, but they’re so well written, with such depth, and they’re so likeable that they become fascinating people to walk alongside.
I love the exploration of friendship and love between the children and adults, and that family is not always made up of blood relatives but your friends, your chosen family.
It doesn’t shy away from tough subjects but it also doesn’t push it in your face. It’s handled well and combined with the magical elements it makes it easier to read and more palatable, particularly for younger readers.
Less ‘stuff’ happens in this one. It’s a lot more talking and travelling and plotting, than action, and I wonder if it’s because it’s the final book and Yvonne wants to wrap everything up from the three books.
It’s a quick and easy read, for children and adults, and could easily be slotted into a spare hour or so.
Books By Your Bedside 