Stina knows she’s not going to live a long life. At only 12 she has consumption wreaking havoc in her lungs. One of six children in a poor family, it is deemed to be a godsend to be part of a special medical trial at Raspberry Hill Sanitorium. A doctor named Hagman wants to learn more about clean air’s effects on young consumptive lungs, and Stina is his prize patient.

Raspberry Hill certainly has clean, crisp air, far from Stina’s town of Sjömansgatan in Denmark. Like a castle it sits on a hill overlooking a gleaming lake and an oak lined avenue to its doors.

Inside is mostly empty with only a handful of nursing staff and doctors, Stina quickly choosing her favourites. She’s grateful to have this chance of getting well, and knows it will be a blessing to her mother with her gone. With five more siblings, her home is a very busy household.

She does miss her brothers and sisters, their noise and chatter and dreams of the future, because most of her time is spent alone in her dormitory surrounded by empty beds. Will more children arrive soon?

When she wakes to find a young boy reading her beloved copy of Robinson Crusoe she is a little cross at first, but quickly relieved to have someone to talk to. This begins her friendship with Ruben Wiik, a veteran of Raspberry Hill. They have adventures together, inside and out of the Sanitorium, and Stina learns much about it.

There was once a terrible fire, and an entire wing of the hospital is out of bounds. But what happened there and why does one of the doctors still have a key?

Meeting others in the grounds, one Stina is almost positive is a witch, she learns even more and begins to unravel The Mystery of Raspberry Hill.

If only Ruben had her help before…

A young tween novel translated from Swedish to English by AA Prime, The Mystery of Raspberry Hill won the prestigious Runeberg Junior Prize in Finland.

Set in Finland in the 1920’s, this story has a spooky, gothic vibe inside a partially used sanitorium. At first, Stina doesn’t find any other children, just wealthy ladies wanting to rest in the fresh air and beautiful scenery. Her desire to find others to talk to drives her curiosity and discoveries within the hospital.

There are some surprises in store as she learns more about the staff of Raspberry Hill, and an exciting but shocking climax to the story. Young tweens will cheer this young heroine on in her determination to share the truth, as her own life is suddenly in danger.

Author – Eva Frantz

Translator – AA Prime

Age – 8+

(2022, Pushkin Children’s, Faber Factory, Gothic, Spooky, Mystery, Secrets, Hospital, Sanitorium, Consumption, Bad lungs, TB, Tuberculosis, Wasting away, Poverty, Medical Trial, Award Winner, Finland, Translated, Family, Friendship, Murder)