The Secrets in the Walls

By JP Dumas

The Ticking Has Stopped... But the Adventure is Just Beginning.

The village of Blackwood is infamous for its forbidden woods and ancient, eerie folklore. But for twelve-year-old Aiden Dumas, the village isn't "wild"-it's home.

Everything changes when he is cornered by the school bully, Finlay. Expecting a fight, Aiden instead gets a confession: Finlay's house is haunted. Strange ticking sounds vibrate through the walls, things move on their own, and the very air is cold with dread.

Skeptical but thrilled by the mystery, Aiden recruits his best friend, the fact-loving Iain. Together, they form an unlikely trio with the terrified Finlay to uncover the truth behind the "haunting."

Their investigation leads them deep into the heart of Blackwood Village's secrets, where they discover the town isn't just old-it's a massive, intricate clockwork machine, and its master regulator is tearing itself apart.

From secret pantry passages and hidden gear-chambers to the terrifying Grand Chronometer in the woods, the friends must face not only the legacy of a mad clockmaker but the very real dangers of the schoolyard.

When they jam the mechanism, they set the village free from its century-long "time." But as the chaotic, real world rushes in, Aiden realizes the adventure wasn't just about stopping the ticking. It was about finding a team. And in a village full of secrets, the real mystery is just beginning to wind up.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HFG5G5MP
• ISBN13: 9798192910061
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 81 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.2" x 6.0"