A fast-paced and deliciously thrilling duology opener.
Thirteen-year-old sleuth Mystery James must find a missing object to help save her family’s business.
Mystery lives with Tía Lucy, her Puerto Rican adoptive aunt, who found her as an infant in the Olde Ellis Town Cemetery. Mystery, who has “bronze-brown” skin, longs to know more about her birth parents and how she ended up left behind a tombstone, swaddled in a blanket embroidered with the words “Baby James.” When local philanthropist Lady Ellis dies, her son Owen entrusts Tía Lucy’s business, Garcia Graves & Funeral Home, with her interment. But before Lady Ellis can be buried, Mystery, who’s comfortable with the dead, receives the fright of her life when the old woman’s spirit speaks to her. According to her wishes, Lady Ellis was buried with an heirloom necklace, so when a mysterious person sells it to an antiques dealer after the funeral, Owen accuses Tía Lucy of stealing it—even insinuating that she’s been robbing other clients. To clear Tía Lucy’s name, Mystery sets out to find the real thief, accompanied by best friend Garrett and new friend Eliza, Lady Ellis’ granddaughter, who may hold the answer to another supernatural mystery. The book includes illustrated pages from the notebook where Mystery records important information. Readers who enjoyed Daka Hermon’s Hide and Seeker (2020) will delight in this novel, which combines strong character development and relationships with a well-drawn small-town setting that’s both creepy and quaint.
A fast-paced and deliciously thrilling duology opener. (map) (Horror. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9780593896914
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls.
Three young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Stroud’s new post-Bartimaeus series.
Narrator Lucy Carlyle hopes to put her unusual sensitivity to supernatural sounds to good use by joining Lockwood & Co.—one of several firms that have risen to cope with the serious ghost Problem that has afflicted England in recent years. As its third member, she teams with glib, ambitious Anthony Lockwood and slovenly-but-capable scholar George Cubbins to entrap malign spirits for hire. The work is fraught with peril, not only because a ghost’s merest touch is generally fatal, but also, as it turns out, as none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation. All are, however, resourceful and quick on their feet, which stands them in good stead when they inadvertently set fire to a house while discovering a murder victim’s desiccated corpse. It comes in handy again when they later rashly agree to clear Combe Carey Hall, renowned for centuries of sudden deaths and regarded as one of England’s most haunted manors. Despite being well-stocked with scream-worthy ghastlies, this lively opener makes a light alternative for readers who find the likes of Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series too grim and creepy for comfort.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Folk horror for younger folk.
Kids stumble into a strange, remote community watched over by a huge, ominous scarecrow.
Twins Oliver and Trisha are three days into a five-day canoe trip with their dad to celebrate their 12th birthdays when their father is knocked unconscious in an accident. They’re virtually alone in the remote Missouri wilderness, and there’s no cell phone signal, but the siblings eventually find a dock on the river. From there, they follow a trail to the small town of Escrow, population 999. An enormous scarecrow stands in the town square; locals claim it keeps them all safe. Dad is taken to a strange medical facility and subjected to treatments that don’t seem to make sense for his injuries. The adults in Escrow behave oddly, getting angry when the twins don’t eat all their ice cream and casually suggesting that their father might die. The witchlike woman who takes them in for the night warns them not to go outside after dark. Meanwhile, both Oliver and Trisha can hear the threatening voice of the scarecrow inside their heads. They resolve to rescue Dad and get out of town, but the townspeople will go to extremes to keep them from leaving, ramping up the tension. The resourcefulness, cooperation, and affection displayed by the twins offset some truly scary moments, and a genuinely surprising ending provides macabre humor. Main characters read white.
Folk horror for younger folk. (Horror. 10-14)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781728277592
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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