The Graveyard Riddle is the first of Lisa Thompson's books that I've read and I was instantly gripped. Melody meets a curious boy called Hal in the abandoned plague house in the graveyard near her house. He says that he works for MI8 and is hunting down a jewel thief. Together with Melody, they try to solve the riddles that a suspect is leaving on one of the graves. But Melody's friends are convinced that there might be more to Hal then meets the eye and they are desperate to uncover who he really is.

Meanwhile, Melody has other problems to tackle, as her mum wants to sell the house that they've lived in for years and her Dad - the only person who might be able to prevent them from having to sell - has dropped all contact with the family.

I particularly loved the unusual characters in the story and the wonderful relationships between them. One of my favourite passages is a conversation between Melody and Hal:

"So you must have quite an exciting life then," I said. "As a spy. My life is just so... ordinary."

He grinned. "I don't think you're ordinary in the slightest," he said. "I don't expect there are many people who like hanging out in plague houses for a start. You sound pretty unique to me."

I smiled. I'd been called a weirdo, strange and odd in the past, but never unique. I liked it!

The story features Matthew, the famous 'Goldfish Boy' from Lisa's previous book - I can't wait to read his story. I've already added it to my list!