Book Nook - American Mystery (Don't Doubt the Rainbow 3)

Crown House Publishing is proud to announce the release of American Mystery, the third instalment of the award-winning Don’t Doubt the Rainbow Series by Professor Anthony Kessel. This fast-paced thriller finds teen detective Edie uncovering a long-buried family secret that only she can be relied upon to solve. It leads her on an exciting global adventure, from Toronto to Washington DC to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, before returning to her homeland for a dramatic climax on the windswept moorlands of Dartmoor. Along the way, she uses valuable tools that support her mental wellbeing and discovers that even the most complex problems can be solved when you’re resilient and thinking clearly.

Anthony Kessel is a senior public health physician in NHS England, whose position has made him acutely aware of the mental health crisis affecting children and young adults. Written for middle-grade and early teen readers, the series was born from Anthony’s desire to address this crisis in a new and creative way. It harnesses his professional expertise and understanding to educate young readers about their innate mental wellbeing. In each book we see 13-year-old protagonist Edie Marble using new approaches to understanding how the mind works which is currently proving invaluable in improving mental health and wellbeing in children internationally.

Throughout both the book and the series, Anthony explores how things are not always what they seem – how our ‘thinking’ often represents our imagined reality rather than what is necessarily true – and examines the nature of the link between thoughts and feelings. In so doing he gives readers the tools they need to understand their thoughts and emotions better and to connect with their inner wellbeing so that they can live happier, more fulfilled lives.

We often see worrying data concerning the global decline in young people’s mental wellbeing in new research and news reports, and it seems to be reaching a critical level. In the UK NHS research shows that in 2023 around 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 years had a probable mental health disorder - a rise from 1 in 6 in 2021.¹ “Alarm bells are ringing,” says Mark Russell, the chief executive of the British Children’s Society. “UK teenagers are facing a happiness recession.”² These alarming statistics underscore the urgent need to address the crisis in children’s mental health. Experts are now increasingly placing importance on taking preventative measures, such as educating young people on how best to support their mental wellbeing and build their emotional resilience.

Parents, guardians and teachers of teenagers are more aware than ever of the importance of good mental health, yet addressing the subject can seem a daunting task. The Don’t Doubt the Rainbow series offers a compelling yet subtle way to introduce children to this topic, using a proven approach in a pioneering way. Overall, American Mystery promises an engaging and exciting read for middle-grade and early teen readers that will give them the tools to support their mental health and emotional resilience, ultimately allowing them to thrive in our complex modern world.


Suitable for readers aged 11+.




¹ ‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in England’, NHS England, 2023, Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2023-wave-4-follow-up#, and ‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in England’, NHS England, 2021, Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2021-follow-up-to-the-2017-survey

² Mark Russell, qtd in Robert Booth, ‘‘Happiness recession’: UK 15-year-olds at bottom of European satisfaction league’, The Guardian, 2024, Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/29/uk-teenagers-low-life-satisfaction-europe