GHOST IN THE NIGHT

While looking for answers about grief and loss, 12-year-old Harmony Roundtree ends up finding a murder mystery.

After the death of her grandmother, Harmony leaves Harlem and tours the country with her blues guitarist dad, entertaining herself with ghost tours. Her goal: to photograph a ghost and prove they’re real. Daddy and his band head to Savannah, Georgia, “widely considered to be one of the most haunted cities in the United States,” for six weeks. Harmony is surprised they’re staying with her dad’s friend Lena, whom she’s never heard of but who turns out to have known her late mother. There’s something about Daddy’s behavior around Lena that makes Harmony feel left out, and the recent murder of Lena’s friend Tim Truman, who ran Black history tours, makes her uneasy. During a ghost tour of Savannah, Harmony discovers what she believes is a haunted house, and she takes a photo of what may be the ghost of the murdered man. She confronts her dad about his strange behavior and sets out to discover the truth—for herself and for Mr. Truman’s family—with the help of new friend Myah and Lena’s 10-year-old son, Robby. Harmony is a fully realized character, whose grief is paired with a wistfulness that makes her sympathetic. This roller-coaster of a story centering on a cast of Black characters highlights courageous young people who dive deep into danger.

An atmospheric, well-paced adventure exploring supernatural mysteries during a steamy Savannah summer.