The book I’m trying to recall I came across in 1995 when I was aged 10. It was in the library at my school for 9-13 year olds but I think it could probably be aimed at older teens too. This was in the UK.

I remember very little but I know the book was quite lengthy for the target audience, perhaps as long as The Hobbit or maybe a bit shorter. It was just one in a series of at least three or more books which made a complete story. This book was not the first in the series. It was a paperback and physically it was a similar size to The Hobbit again. The title was quite mysterious and enticing, potentially of the form The <adjective> <noun> (like “The Amber Spyglass”).

I remember at the beginning of this book that a few characters (older children/teenagers) arrived at a house/lodge somewhere, perhaps in a forest (possibly pines) and I think it had been raining. It was nighttime I believe. The characters came inside and I remember something about one or two of them going up or down some stairs and using two mirrors held parallel to each other, to make a “corridor” effect of reflections. They tried to get the mirrors to be perfectly parallel so that the “corridor” did not veer to one side as it normally does. When they got it perfectly aligned, it somehow “tuned into” some enemy’s lair or location, such that they could see the enemy. This was in the first chapter I believe. The second chapter I think was called “Beef Stew” because this was being cooked for dinner.

Possibly the title of the first chapter, or the book itself even, involved the words: secret, staircase/stairway, chimney, smoke, fire/fireplace but I am not certain about this.

The book I think was fantasy/adventure.

Thanks in advance for any help!

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