The secret door behind the wardrobe may be a bit much, but in general this suspenseful tale of three young folks winkling out secrets in an old stone house is well-endowed with the requisite elements. His twin Julia may mock him, but Jason is sure that Argo Manor, their family’s new home, is haunted. And Rick, their new friend from the small town nearby, is skeptical but eager enough to go along to explore the mysterious mansion, once the home of strange recluse Ulysses Moore. Bickering constantly but plainly thinking the world of each other, the twins, along with their brooding buddy, make smart, effervescent protagonists. Throw in the occasional atmospheric drawing, a mansion filled with books, nooks, antiques and shadows, absent parents, an enigmatic old caretaker, a series of coded messages, a secret passage leading into the cliff and a hidden cavern concealing a ship with unusual properties—and it all adds up to one of the past year’s most promising, tantalizing series openers. (Fantasy. 10-12)
