What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie (review)

Twelve-year-old Ginny and her family move to Saugatuck, Michigan so her dad can restore rundown Woodmoor Manor. Already spooked by the legend of the Hitchhikers, mutant creatures roaming the woods surrounding the manor, Ginny’s additionally unnerved by hearing the distant, ominous tick-tocking of a clock from everywhere in the house, getting trapped in the dark with a faceless mannequin that seems to move, and seeing the ghostly face of a woman in the mirror—not to mention the appearance of a typewriter with a note that says GET OUT. New friend Will, who has a connection to the manor, warns Ginny of an even more sinister threat than the Hitchhikers: the Shadow People. Currie (Scritch Scratch, BCCB 9/20) returns with another chilling outing informed by real history. Agatha Christie superfan and future mystery writer Ginny revels in the spotlight, and the eerie atmosphere without overly gruesome imagery makes this a perfect middle-grade horror selection. Though there are hints of a possible followup, they may just be clever misdirection that will tickle Christie fans, and the novel holds its own as a shivery standalone.