From the author of The Hollow Inside comes a twisty thriller about grief, family, and spine-chilling tales.
As a member of the supposedly-cursed Clark family, most of Roxie Clark’s ancestors have met tragic ends, including her mother. Instead of fearing the curse, however, Roxie has combined her flair for performance and her gruesome family history into a successful ghost tour. But her tour never covers the most recent death—her sister Skylar’s boyfriend, found murdered in a cornfield.
A year later, Roxie’s desperate to help Skylar find closure. Instead, Skylar becomes fixated on finding the killer. But the more lies the sisters uncover about that night, the more Roxie starts to wonder if some scary stories might be better left untold.
Format
Page Count
Trim Size
Dewey
AR
Genre
Scholastic Reading Counts
JLG Release
Book Genres
Topics
Standard MARC Records
Cover Art
School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up—The women in the Clark family are cursed; except for her sister and her grandma, all of Roxie Clark's female relatives have met an untimely demise. Roxie has made the macabre her hobby, passion, and part-time job. She has embraced her family's grim history and created an elaborate ghost tour that earns her a bit of extra cash during the Halloween season. She's even added a tour bus. Meanwhile, there is a fresh murder in town. Her sister's ex-boyfriend has turned up dead, and suspicions abound as to who may have done the dastardly deed. As all eyes look toward the recently released local felon, a second body is discovered. A tame romantic subplot helps the story clip along as Roxie finds herself dividing loyalties between her sister and her best friend—turned-crush. A presumably all-white cast is featured. The ghost tour is so well-painted that readers would eagerly hand over the money to be included on the next trip. VERDICT Suspending disbelief about a teen's ability to conduct a thorough murder investigation, readers will enjoy this solid mystery with a satisfying resolution; the ghost stories are great.—Leah Krippner