The Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom: The Body Theif by Stephen M. Giles--Review

Title: The Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom: The Body Theif
By: Stephen M. Giles
Genre: Middle Grade
Published: August 10th, 2010 Sourcebooks Jabberwockey
Special Note: ARC review

And you thought your family was strange.


I am dying. . . I might get the chance to know you before death takes me...I would like you to be my guest at Sommerset. . .I have enclosed a check for $ 10,000. . . Should you accept my offer...

Uncle Silas has always been greedy, evil, insulting, and extremely rich! But a dying uncle with a vast fortune is definitely one worth getting to know. Even if it means spending 2 months on his secluded island home with a houseful of suspicious servants and a hungry pet crocodile.

But what is Uncle Silas really up to? Will Adele, Milo, and Isabella outlive Uncle Silas to inherit his money? And just who is that mysterious "guest" in his basement? Is it worth the money (or their lives) to stick around and find out?

My Thoughts:


This story had an awesome plot. I loved how the kids where sent to their crotchety uncle Silas's under false pretenses. The author did a great job allowing us to get to know the characters in this novel and the motives behind each one of them to get Silas's money.


I was not expecting the twist on why the kids where there, but it was great and added just the right amount of darkness to this middle-grade story.

If you like mystery with a little sci-fi magic mixed in. This one's for you.