When this bell rings by Allison Rushby

Walker Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781760651947.
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. When eleven year old Tamsin, daughter of the housekeeper, finds herself part of the investigation into the disappearance of her next door neighbour, she is at a  loss as to who to trust. Her neighbour, Edie St Clair is a well known children's novelist and is a working on the concluding chapters of her graphic novel, the last in a series of ten books called London of the Bells, so successful that journalists are camped near her front verandah, eager for an interview. Tamsin is asked inside after showing her an illustration of the min character, and once there she is drawn into the mystery, becoming part of the illustrations which cover the walls of Edie's house.
Tamsin finds herself in the world created by Edie, and here the significance of the bells of the London churches and the children's rhyme, Oranges and Lemons, takes on a sinister meaning as the ravens from the Tower of London have taken over the city, using the bells to summon the populace to do their bidding. It is a creepy world, spectacularly reflecting known aspects of London, but equally taking this knowledge and using it with an unsettling malevolence.
Cleverly entwining the story of Edie St Clair with the novel she is writing, her characters are given life as the text moves from the present to the fictional world she has created. But some of the characters seem to know why Tamsin is in their world, and even seem to understand that they are a creation of a novelist's imagination, and seem to be directing Tamsin, but she has no idea where she is going or why. Eventually Tamsin realises that they are all worried about what will happen to them when number ten is finished, and they toss her out of their world, telling her to write an ending which will please everyone, but a twist brings her much closer to their world than she expects.
Just like Tamsin, readers are mystified as to what is going on, and like her, develop a strong idea of place and time as we begin to piece the jigsaw together, enthralled at its multi layered complexity.
I loved Rushby's previous novels, The mulberry tree, The turnkey and The seven keys, and their complexity foreshadows the involving read offered in When this bell rings, a wholly engrossing and captivating story. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes: Fantasy, Graphic novel, Writing, Authors, Time travel, Characterisation.
Fran Knight