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GHOST HUNTER'S DAUGHTER

Suspenseful and spine-shivering.

When a famous ghost hunter vanishes on the job, his daughter and her spirit-sensitive classmate brave a vengeful curse to bring him home.

Everyone in Archer’s Mills knows Claire Holiday, and all her classmates want to be her friend—but not on her account. Her father, Miles Holiday, hunts down and banishes ghosts on the popular TV show Invisible Intelligence. Unlike Claire, no one wants to be friends with Lucas Kent, who moved to Archer’s Mills two years ago to live with his paternal grandmother, who talks to ghosts and firmly disapproves of Miles Holiday’s methods. Forces from beyond the veil bring Lucas and Claire together when Lucas receives a desperate visitation from Claire’s dead mother, who warns him that her father is in grave danger. This fast-paced supernatural mystery switches between Lucas’ and Claire’s perspectives, so readers see both characters struggle with their own insecurities, discover potential in themselves, and grow by working together. The story is set after an unidentified natural disaster that devastated the East Coast, and cellphones no longer receive reception. All of the primary characters are presumed white, and the background characters fall into a white default. Poblocki deftly sustains tension until the resolution. Not all of the characters receive a happy ending, but the conclusion is satisfying and ties up loose ends all the same.

Suspenseful and spine-shivering. (Paranormal mystery. 8-12)

Pub Date: July 7, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-545-83004-1

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020

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FINALLY, SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS

From the One and Onlys series , Vol. 1

Delightful fun for budding mystery fans.

Only children, rejoice! A cozy mystery just for you! (People with siblings will probably enjoy it too.)

Debut novelist Cornett introduces the One and Onlys, a trio of mystery-solving only kids: Gloria Longshanks “Shanks” Hill, Alexander “Peephole” Calloway, and narrator Paul (alas, no nickname) Marconi. The trio has a knack for finding and solving low-level mysteries, but they come up against a true head-scratcher when the yard of a resident of their small town is covered in rubber ducks overnight. Working ahead of Officer Portnoy, who’s a little on the slow side, can Paul, Shanks, and Peephole solve the mystery? Cornett has a lot of fun with this adventure, dropping additional side mysteries, a subplot about small businesses, big corporations, and economics, and a town’s love of bratwurst into the mix. Most importantly, he plays fair with the clues throughout, allowing astute readers to potentially solve the case ahead of the trio. The tone and mystery are perfect for younger readers who want to test their detective skills but are put off by anything scary or gory. The pacing would serve well for chapter-by-chapter read-alouds. If there are any quibbles, it’s the lack of diversity of the cast, as it defaults white. Diversity exists in small towns, and this one is crying out for more. Hopefully a sequel will introduce additional faces.

Delightful fun for budding mystery fans. (Mystery. 8-12)

Pub Date: April 14, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9848-3003-6

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020

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THE CURSE ON SPECTACLE KEY

Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all.

Eleven-year-old Frank must solve a supernatural mystery to save his new home.

As fifth grade comes to an end, Frank Fernández is looking forward to finally staying put in Alabama for a second year, as promised, after a childhood spent following his parents’ home renovation work all across the country. Frequent relocation has made Frank wary of forming friendships or making plans, but his hopes for more stability are temporarily dashed when his parents announce plans to renovate a lighthouse in the Florida Keys, near where his mother grew up and his father’s home country of Cuba. Papi promises this will be their last move, though: The lighthouse will be theirs. But from their first day on Spectacle Key, things seem to go wrong: Tensions rise between his parents, and Frank’s hopes of a forever home are under threat from seemingly supernatural forces. In order to put down roots, Frank and new ghostly friend Connie, a White girl with freckles, must discover what secrets the island is hiding, uncovering Frank’s own family roots along the way. Frank is a fan of horror—he names his new Great Dane puppy Mary Shelley. But though there is some mild peril to be found, rather than a ghostly thriller, this is an appealing, lightly spooky family drama with valuable lessons for those who would hide from a difficult past instead of confronting and healing generational trauma.

Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all. (Supernatural. 8-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-06-313481-2

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022

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