BILLY BONES

Newly orphaned Millicent Hues has a natural curiosity that suits her new home, High Manners Manor. Sadly, her explorations are curtailed by her greedy uncle, Sir Biglum, and his housekeeper, Miss Primly. High Manners is a house good at keeping its secrets, but the last thing Millicent would have expected was to stumble upon a closet with honest-to-goodness skeletons in it. The Bones family members are the official secret-keepers of the household, but young Billy Bones, tired of his closet home, shares Millicent’s desire for adventure. Sir Biglum’s own secrets are intricately tied to Billy’s past, and it’s up to these intrepid new friends to uncover the truth behind the lies and to defeat the villains who wish to destroy them. Lincoln’s book has an easygoing charm that never demands much of its readers. Despite multiple death scenes (most related in flashback), it’s a light read with a gentle tone. Not a particularly new or original piece of work, but one that’s sure to amuse those kids with a love of the mildly macabre. (Horror. 8-12)