Rebecca Wade's follow-up to The Theft and the Miracle revisits heroine Hannah Price, as well as the familiar theme of the haunted house--and adds some fresh twists.
Hannah Price and her parents move into old Cowleigh Lodge (modeled after the author's childhood home in England) while their home is being repaired. It's the ideal setting for a ghost-hunting adventure with her friend Sam Fallon. The story accelerates in no time from innocent discussions over homework to unraveling the mystery of 11-year-old Maisie Holt, who died in Cowleigh Lodge in 1877. First, the duo comes across a book of fairy tales inscribed to Maisie. Then they explore the attic and find a disfigured doll with human hair and "mad, staring eyes." These discoveries seem eerily timed to the anniversary of Maisie's death, and the suspense builds.
Wade spins the traditional spook story with fun devices, such as Maisie's ghost rearranging magnetic letters on the fridge, and a Scrabble set that functions in lieu of a Ouija board to get messages to Hannah and Sam. The author builds an intimacy among the characters quickly, and readers will likely appreciate the talents of the investigative heroes as they try to solve the mystery of Maisie's killer--comic-relieving Sam and artistic Hannah who is "quick, confident, scarily accurate" whenever she draws.
The Whispering House is a stirring story with an original supernatural flair that may well satisfy both mystery fans and horror-savvy readers. --Adam Silvera, assistant, Books of Wonder, New York