THE SECRET OF MOONRISE MANOR

Aided by her friends, 12-year-old Raven Gallows finds a mummy and attempts to solve a murder, which provides a lead for an investigation into her own mother’s death.

With their dad on an archaeological dig in Chile, Raven and her older sister, Annabel Lee, live and work with Grams and Aunt Lenore at the family’s funeral home. Recently, Raven’s best friend, Cosmina, received an unusual message from a spirit guide concerning Evangeline, Raven’s art historian mom who passed away years ago under mysterious circumstances. When the friends go to the renowned haunted hotel Moonrise Manor to communicate with Cosmina’s guide, Raven crashes into a wall, exposing a mummified body. The duo—plus new friend Miles and tech-savvy Eric—resolve to learn who murdered the man and enclosed him in the wall. The many Edgar Allan Poe references and quotes give this contemporary tale a gothic feel. As the characters race to expose the killer, the Ozarks setting of Sassafras Springs, Missouri, with its razor’s edge ridges, plays its own role in building the tension. Meanwhile, everything Raven uncovers during her investigation about art heists and a secret society convinces her that the mummy is somehow linked to her mother. Most main characters read white; Eric is cued Chinese American.

Offers ghoulish thrills and the promise of more adventures ahead.