GRIM Gruesome is on the warpath and the Kingdom of Jorvik is his target with plenty of child victims to be kidnapped, tortured and even eaten.

Strangely, King Erik Blood-Axe does not seem too concerned (he has treasure and pirate raids on his mind), and leaves it up to the Queen to tackle the brute on his own. A rollicking, toothsome historical fantasy that successfully marries reality and myth to produce an adventure that matches any of the Viking sagas. Grrrr-eat from start to finish.

Rosalind, children’s book reviewer for The Northern Echo, will be launching this second book in her Grim Grusome series at the Yorvik Festival, St Sampson’s Square, York, on Thursday at 2pm. More details on worldbookday.com and grimgruesome.com