DEEP, DARK, AND DANGEROUS by Mary Downing Hahn
Ali is so excited to get away from her overprotective mother for the summer and stay at the old cabin on the lake with her aunt and cousin, Emma. She feels a little bad for going, knowing how frightened her mother is of the lake. But it will be fun to babysit for Emma. And more importantly, maybe Ali can solve the mystery of the torn picture of her mother, aunt, and a mysterious girl that Ali found in the attic. The summer starts going all wrong, though, when a girl named Sissy shows up and starts taunting Emma. Ali tries to keep her cousin away from the “bad influence,” but instead uncovers a tragedy that may still be haunting the old cabin–and her mother’s memories.
Not as creepy some of MDH’s other books, this ghost story is more mysterious than harrowing. It will be good for middle grade readers who are looking for a less scary ghost story or who enjoy character driven mysteries.
