VOYA

When Jim, Sal, and their father move into chilly old Minerva Hall, Jim instantly is repelled by its unpleasant owner, Lord Minerva, and by the terrifying feeling that ghostly children are just out of sight. The death of Jim's mother has completely devastated his father, who badly needs the job as head gardener for the large estate. Frightened and isolated, Jim begins to see visions of six children's freak deaths and follows the clues that their spirits leave for him. They lead him to discoveries about a nearby village and the long-dead children who restlessly haunt Minerva Hall. Jim finds only one "friend," Einstein, the strange, autistic son of Lord Minerva, truant from boarding school, who hides in the grounds. Lord Minerva becomes ever-more threatening as Jim pries into long-concealed Minerva secrets. One is an ancient curse that tells of seven who must die, and Jim is filled with foreboding for Einstein, surely in grave danger. As torrential rain falls, the village is threatened by a devastating flood, and the swirling waters nearly overwhelm Jim. In the end, he realizes that Einstein is already dead, murdered by his father. The curse is fulfilled, and now Jim must draw on superhuman power to avert further tragedy. Intricately plotted, suspenseful, and eerie, Morton-Shaw's new novel is bound to attract readers. This thriller is quite complex but ultimately satisfying, as Lord Minerva dies in prison, and Jim's family and the dead children finally find peace. Reviewer: Rayna Patton