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Book Review of All the Lovely Bad Ones

All the Lovely Bad Ones
GeniusJen avatar reviewed on + 5322 more book reviews


Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Printed on the cover is "A Ghost Story." It is - complete with creaking floors, blood-curdling screams, and dark groves of trees. ALL THE LOVELY BAD ONES is your typical haunted house tale.

Sent to spend the summer with their grandmother, Travis and his sister, Corey, are in for the scare of their lives. As soon as they learn that the Vermont inn owned by their grandmother is haunted, Travis and Corey are thrilled to be there. Unfortunately, Grandmother has other thoughts. She really isn't interested in playing up the haunted angle to her guest, but Travis thinks that would be just the ticket to increase business.

Travis and Corey have a plan. They will use some costumes, a little make-up, and a blue flashlight to make just the right combination of sights and sounds to stir up some interest in the old inn. When word gets around that the long-dormant ghosts of Fox Hill Inn are active again, business will be booming. However, it was not part of the plan that the kids' antics would actually encourage the real ghosts to make a return of a very real kind.

Readers of Mary Downing Hahn's latest mystery are in for a treat. The ghosts in this story are not ready to settle down until some of the wrongs of the past are righted. Until that happens, the inhabitants of the old inn are victims of mysterious wild rampages that destroy their rooms and possessions, vicious physical assaults, and endless taunts and threats. Life at the inn will not be peaceful until the spirits of the past are appeased.

ALL THE LOVELY BAD ONES is an excellent addition to any mystery collection. It is especially perfect for middle grade readers looking for a quick read and a good scare.