Christina's Ghost

December 1, 1985
Gr 4-6 -Ten-year-old Christina is staying at a gloomy old house in the country where her Uncle Ralph is house-sitting. When she repeatedly sees the ghostly figure of a small boy, she investigates. Christina discovers that 30 years ago, the boy, Russell Charles, and his tutor, Thomas Dixon, were murdered because of some rare stamps Dixon had stolen. Christina and Uncle Ralph decide to find the missing stamps and lay the ghosts to rest. The plot is well-constructed and moves quickly. The ghosts are convincing, as Wright conveys the wistfulness of the boy and the terrifying presence of Dixon without turning them into caricatures of human beings. The climactic scene in which Christina and Uncle Ralph find the stamps and flee the house pursued by the vengeful Dixon is sure to have readers on the edge of their seats. The mystery is a bit pat; one visit to a newspaper office reveals the facts of the murder, and the conclusion that finding the stamps will lay the ghosts to rest is produced out of thin air and not based on either clues or deduction. However, the side plot concerning the evolving relationship between Christina, who is uncomfortable with her bachelor uncle, and her uncle, who does not seem to care much for Christina, is well handled. Although not as tense and suspenseful as Wright's The Dollhouse Murders (Holiday, 1983), this will nicely fill the request for "a good scary ghost story, please." Lisa Smith, Cold Spring Harbor Library, N . Y .