“But the workmen swore the repairs to the house would be finished by now!”

From Maryrose Wood’s The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery.

Recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy, fifteen-year-old Penelope has spent the last few months working as a governess for Lord Fredrick and Lady Constance Ashton.  While she dearly loves Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia Incorrigible, the wild children that Lord Ashton found in the woods, Penelope has had trouble understanding the wildly different couple that employs her.  When Penelope asks to take the children to London so she can visit her old headmaster, Miss Mortimer, Lady Ashton announces that the entire house will go to London together while the house repairs caused by a recently sabotaged Christmas party is completed.  So as the entire household prepares to transfer to the rental house in the city, Penelope and the children head to London to enjoy the countless sights and learning opportunities.  However, when Penelope and her charges arrive, because she is armed with only the confusing guide that Miss Mortimer sent as a gift, Penelope and the children get lost until the kind young Simon helps them find their temporary home.  Their days in London are filled with scary happenings and mix-ups, but Penelope doesn’t think too much of it all, until she learns from Miss Mortimer that the children are in danger from an unknown force.  Penelope is desperate to do anything to keep the Incorrigibles safe, especially as the questions surrounding their past continue to mount.

The second book in Wood’s hilarious series manages again to captivate readers from start to finish.  All the major characters return to allow for development, and more information is added to the series’ overall mystery, but only enough to keep readers guessing.  The Hidden Gallery is a solid addition to the series and is sure to make readers desperate for the next installment.