This expertly plotted middlegrade thriller will enthrall readers.
Great for fans of Katherine Rundell, Paul Griffin.
MIDDLE GRADE
Maddie’s Ghost
Carol Fisher Saller | Duckweed Books
244p, trade paper, $9.99, ISBN 979-8-9862353-4-9
Saller (Eddie’s War) delivers a strong middle-grade thriller with her latest work.
Nearly 90 years after lab assistant Madeleine
Eleanor Carruthers is executed, leaving four children behind, her great-granddaughter,
Madeleine Stanton—known as Lainie— uncovers bits of her story and sets out to exonerate her great-grandmother and namesake. Like her great-granddaughter, the first
Madeleine was born at midnight at the start of a new century, and when a local TV reporter asks for an interview about “Millenium Girl,” Lainie is thrilled. But on set, the reporter blindsides Lainie with sensationalized material about her disgraced relative—and sends Lainie on a crusade to find a way to clear Madeleine’s name, with her friends Seth (who might just become more than a friend) and Elle.
Saller skillfully weaves history and present-day hints to create an irresistible narrative, rich with exciting clues, that readers will eagerly devour. A missing and mysterious blue journal, kept by Madeleine in the 1930s, promises to reveal the truth—if they can find it. Living in the old family Victorian provides Lainie with plenty of tantalizing hidden hiding spots, and readers will hold their breath as they wait to see if each hiding place is the one that will solve the mystery. Lainie’s great-uncles, Madeleine’s sons, provide clues, and one particularly juicy secret comes from their younger sister Cecily, kidnapped and renamed Gracie by her nanny during Madeleine’s trial.
Saller’s talent for thoroughly researching her subjects is on full display—readers will find themselves mentally traveling the Victorian family home right along with Lainie and her friends. Saller also doesn’t shy away from tough subjects, such as unethical drug companies, unjust execution after defending one’s own life, and unnecessary commitment to mental hospitals. Lainie and her friends are thoroughly believable and appealing, leading readers to follow them on this multi-decade-old mystery trail. This tantalizing tale will engage readers from the first page to the last.
Cover: B | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A