Operating Codes

Upon moving to Sentinel House, five-year-old Matty and fifteen-year-old Graham encounter ghosts from a nearby abandoned military compound, but real trouble begins when their father is arrested for posting information about a secret weapons system on the Internet.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. British teenager Graham Hayton and his five-year-old sister, Mattie, sense that something is not right about their new home. First there was the heavy mist that greeted them when they arrived at the historic house, and the frightening man they encountered. And later there were strange noises that sounded like soldiers marching. To these odd occurrences add Mr. Hayton's highly secretive national defense work, and readers have the makings of a British espionage thriller and a ghost story combined. The kids discover that the home was part of a WWI military camp, where a young soldier was executed for treason after revealing that the camp was testing poison gases on prisoners. The treason explodes into the present when Mr. Hayton is arrested for publishing defense codes on the Internet. The suspense builds gradually as Manns skillfully weaves together the past and present, presenting a solid story mixed with tight courtroom dramatics. Anne O'MalleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Nick Manns was born in England. His father was in the Royal Air Force, and consequently the family traveled the globe from base to base. Today he lives in a creaky, old house with his wife and children in England.

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