Jack Pepper Conquers the Green Man — Martin Tarpey

‘Jack Pepper Conquers The Green Man' is an exciting contemporary mystery story for young people. This is the fourth story in the series following on from ‘Jack Pepper and the Whitby Treasure,' ‘Jack Pepper at Towton, and ‘Jack Pepper's Greatest Triumph.' These stories are works of fiction based on historical facts.
Jack, Grace, Emma, Ben and Lucy are ordinary 15 year old youngsters in the same class at their comprehensive school in Leeds. Matthew, Jack's cousin, is in his final year at primary school, Dfor Dog is their mascot. They are rich after finding Roman treasure and nationally famous after discovering medieval battlefield relics from the terrible Battle of Towton 1461 and solving the mystery of Dick Turpin's ghost whistle.
Jack receives a very mysterious ‘phone call from a weird old lady called Tabitha Demdike who demands that he and his friends go down to stay at her small Somerset coastal guest house. She wants him to find their missing medieval Green Man stone figure. This Green Man is supposed to hide and move around the village church. The dying words of the curate who last saw him 1814 said that the stone man smiled at him. Tabby thinks that Jack will find the Green Man, save the life of the present parson and discover who he really is.
Jack and his friends the Pepperites talk to old Williams their history teacher, research the Green Man stories and legends and discover that some of Tabitha's ancestors were burnt for witchcraft in the notorious Kendal witch trials in the 17th century. Jack convinces his friends they can have the adventure of a lifetime, solve the Green Man mystery, save somebody's life and also have a great day out in nearby Weston- Super-Mare.
At half-term, Jack's dad hires a mini bus and arranges a three night stay for them at the Green Man guest house; there they meet old George, Parson John and his new wife Pixie. After an incredible adventure Jack finds the Green Man but is so horrified by his appearance that he nearly falls to his death. He recovers and very cleverly discovers the Green Man's ancient secret which will be used for the future of the church.
They have an excellent day in Weston and save Dfor's life when he is trapped in sinking mud. Working as a team the youngsters use their wits, humour, friendship and courage to solve their problems. They learn a great deal about themselves and Jack makes another astounding self- discovery.