The Door to Time - Pierdomenico Baccalario

[goodreads]

Title: The Door to Time (Ulysses Moore #1)
Author: Pierdomenico Baccalario
Genre: YA, fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 123
Date read: December, 2009

Eleven-year-old twins Jason and Julia have just moved from London to an old mansion on the English coast. Their new home is filled with twisting tunnels and strange artifacts from around the world, and the twins can't wait to discover all its secrets.

Before long, Jason, Julia, and their friend Rick stumble upon a mysterious-looking door hidden behind an old wardrobe. But none of the keys in the house will open it.

What lies behind the door? And why has someone tried to conceal it? Jason, Julia, and Rick are determined to find out, no matter what it takes...

Very interesting combination of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Over Sea, Under Stone" in style and atmosphere, plus it had a bunch of riddles to solve and codes to break, which always fascinates me. Obviously aimed at a much younger audience, but it still had enough going for it to keep an older reader like me entertained ;)

Unfortunately it ends with a cliff-hanger (a pet-peeve of mine), and feels more like a part of a longer book, or an introduction/prequel than a book that's meant to stand alone. If it had felt more 'complete', I would probably have rated it a 4 instead.