While I adored Diana Wynne Jones when I was a teenager, I haven't been a big fan of her books published while I was an adult. Mixed Magics, a collection of four short stories, was OK, and Conrad's Fate was about the same. I was rather disappointed with The Merlin Conspiracy, which I didn't enjoy at all.
So I was pleasantly surprised with Jones' latest novel, The Pinhoe Egg. This may be because it has appearances by some of my most favourite characters of Jones' - Chrestomanci (the government appointed auditor of magic in Jones' world), his wife Millie, and everyone at Chrestomanci Castle. The Pinhoe Egg is the story of the Pinhoe family, a family of witches living secretly in a village near Chrestomanci Castle and concealing their misuse of magic.
I always fall in love with Jones' characters - her awkward, well meaning heroes, the adults who hide evil under a bland exterior, and the humour that winds its way through all of her stories, not detracting from the tragedies that may occur but making them more poignant. A really fabulous YA author, and I think The Pinhoe Egg is a return to some of her best form.
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