The third, least compelling adventure for Johnny Dixon—the 1950s boy-hero of The Curse of the Blue Figurine and The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt. This time Johnny and Professor Childermass take a vacation trip up to a countryinn in New Hampshire, where the Prof immediately spots an unusual shelf clock that was stolen from his ancestral home some years ago: the bottom half of the clock contains a dollhouse room, a replica of the Victorian parlor wherein Prof. Childermass' great-uncle died in a bizarre fashion. Furthermore, during the night, Johnny sees the dollhouse room come to life (!); a tiny skull, from a shelf within the mini-room, falls out of the dollhouse; and Johnny, under some odd compulsion, secretly pockets this creepy talisman. Unsurprisingly, then, strange things start happening once Johnny and the Prof return to Duston Heights, Mass. A jack-o'-lantern mirage keeps appearing at the windows of the Professor's house. Then the Prof vanishes—appearing to Johnny only in a mirror-vision (mouthing "Help me"), leaving behind a few tiny clues. So, with pal Fergie and Catholic priest Father Higgins, Johnny starts on a sleuthing trail after the Professor; the clues eventually lead to a clock museum, a cemetery chapel, and a demon-possessed Professor—all on an island off the Maine coast. And the drawn-out, rather murky finale involves a book of black magic and a vengeful spirit (out to destroy the Professor because of a long-ago crime), with the devil-fighting powers of the True Cross and the Latin church Mass finally saving the day. Throughout, in fact, this thick occult stew is dubiously flavored with Catholic rites and totems—including a prayer to St. Anthony that produces a miraculous clue. ("It was possible that St. Anthony or some higher power had spoken.") More important, while Bellairs turns up the supernatural heat here, he leaves the characters almost entirely undeveloped: Johnny's home-life problems (father in Korea, mother dead, grandmother ill) barely get a mention this time, and there's little pizzazz in the supporting cast. A disappointing follow-up, then, but brightly inventive enough (especially in the creepy dollhouse notion) to provide a new chill or twist every few pages.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1984
ISBN: 0142402656
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1984
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist.
The mother Annabel Price thought was dead returns with a story about where she’s been—but 18-year-old Bel knows she’s lying.
Ever since Rachel Price’s unexplained disappearance 16 years ago, true-crime fans have come up with plentiful theories about what happened. Bel and her family members, who are white, cobbled together lives for themselves after a jury found Bel’s father, Charlie, not guilty of murdering his wife. Beset with medical bills for his elderly father, Charlie recently agreed to participate in a documentary about the unsolved mystery. Black British filmmaker Ramsey Lee is well into the process of interviewing the Prices when his project gets an unanticipated boost after an exhausted, disheveled Rachel staggers back into town. Rachel is eager to resume her role in the family, but the inconsistencies in her accounts raise alarms for Bel. With the help of the youngest member of the filmmaking team, Bel sets out to learn what really happened. Along the way, someone else disappears, and Bel uncovers a tangle of lies that make it impossible for her to trust people she thought she knew. When things come to a head the night of her grandfather’s 85th birthday party, Bel ends up in a race for her life. The last quarter of the novel tears along at a breakneck pace before arriving at a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593374207
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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