Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Lorraine Gregory - Mold and the Poison Plot - Book Review


He's got a big heart . . . and a nose to match! 
Mold's a bit of a freak. His nose is as big as his body is puny and his mother abandoned him in a bin when he was a mere baby. Who else but the old healer, Aggy, would have taken him in and raised him as her own? But when Aggy is accused of poisoning the King, Mold sets out to clear her name.  
In a thrilling race against time to save Aggy from the hangman's noose, Mold faces hideous, deadly monsters like the Yurg and the Purple Narlo Frog. He finds true friendship in the most unusual - and smelly - of places and must pit his wits and his clever nose against the evil witch Hexaba. 


Lorraine Gregory’s middle-grade ‘Mold and the Poison Plot’ is a fantastic book to read. Co-creator of , she is a fantastic advocate for children's books as her debut book shows passion and sparkle through the narrative.  


This is a great fantasy story that has a big heart and a smelly tale to tell. You will leap into the action from the very first page and will follow your nose into an adventure full of danger and absolute smelly mayhem. Along the way, you will follow the main character, Mold, into a narrative that will make your mind squelch through footsteps of bravery. The plot is full of deceit, danger and some really epic moments that fall straight off the pages into the subconscious mind. 


A great and distinctive new voice can be heard through the lovable character, Mold. The story starts in the settled life of Pellegarno, a fantasy world, that has been delightfully installed into this easy and fun read with utter skill and grace. However, only a few chapters later things go suddenly wrong. Aggy is arrested for poisoning the King and, with nowhere or no-one else to turn to, Mold must find a way to prove her innocence before it’s too late. It soon becomes a story full of unexpected allies and betrayals.  

It was a real pleasure to read this book, especially when struggling to find the time to read. I picked up this book, looked at the fantastic book cover by the talented Mr Tom Mead (
a surreal character designer and fine artist) and was instantly sold. Tom traditionally works with pen drawings on paper or wood, but recently he has started drawing and painting on a much larger scale. He has completed works in Bristol, Brighton, Iceland and Cape Town. 


This is a fantastic start to a promising writing career. It has all the influences based on many hours of reading and the love of books with a good story. I am looking forward to reading much more from this author in the future. Thank you to OUP for sending this book to me to review. 

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