Ever since her father passed away, 13-year-old Gilda Joyce has been determined to contact spirits on the other side. She finagles an invitation to visit a distant relative in San Francisco for the summer, who just happens to be in need of her services as a psychic investigator. Equipped with her father’s typewriter, an odd collection of disguises, a psychic manual and an inquisitive personality, Gilda begins looking into the mysterious death of her host’s sister and the reasons for the bumps in the night. Her persistence pays off in many ways as she befriends her cousin, helps mend a broken family and solves the mystery of the spooky tower. Whether dressed in a formal gown for a séance or attempting to channel her father’s spirit through the keys of his typewriter, Gilda’s earnest and wacky personality accompanied by her dry wit make this an amusing as well as suspenseful mystery. Surprisingly spooky. (Fiction. 10-14)
