Title: The Haunting of Elmwood Manor (a Pekin Dewlap Mystery)
Author: Pamela McCord
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Publication date: March 1, 2019
Genres: Middle-Grade, Mystery
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Pekin Dewlap hasn’t seen a ghost since she was twelve. But she’d do anything to get them back. Starting a ghostbusting business with her two best friends, Amber and Scout, seems like the perfect way to accomplish her goal. Of course, playing with ghosts isn’t high on their wish list, so Pekin has to do some arm-twisting to get them on board.
Once committed, Pekin and her friends find themselves in deep, trying to solve the disappearance of fourteen-year-old Miranda Talbert. Miranda went missing in 1918, and her spirit has wandered the halls of Elmwood Manor for the last hundred years.
In the midst of finding Miranda, discovering her budding feelings for Scout, and consoling a terrified Amber, Pekin is met by an angry ghost set on thwarting her plans. Will the Ghosties be able to help Miranda, or will Pekin’s business die before she solves the mystery?
The Haunting of Elmwood Manor Review
What a fun middle grade mystery! Ghosts are one aspect of paranormal that aren’t touched on a whole lot in books (that I know of). At work, parents often come looking for this kind of book for their young teens. I can’t wait to recommend this one!
This book has all the markings of a great mystery novel. As we read, the mystery unfolds slowly, pulling the reader in and making the book difficult to put down. I wanted to know what kind of adventure Pekin and her friends, Amber and Scout, were going to get into next. Which means it’s great to know that this is just the first book in the series.
My main criticism of the book is that it was difficult to get a feel for the actual age of the characters. It says somewhere that they were in their upper teens (I think?). However, they felt younger than that to me. I would have liked a more concrete timeline in regards to where they fit in terms of school.
Other than that, McCord’s book is a successful mystery that would make an excellent summer read!
3.5/5 stars
Author Bio
Pam was born in Arkansas several decades ago. She’s not sure if that makes her a Southern Girl or if moving to Southern California when she was five revokes her Southern Girl card. She started writing later in life when she was challenged by a friend to create a book out of his story idea. Reaching the first 5,000 words was a milestone, but with time and hard work she managed to finish an entire book, much to her surprise.
Since then, she’s written several novels, in several genres. Romance, middle grade and paranormal comprise most of her work. Pam has spent over 40 years working as a legal secretary at a law firm in Orange County, California. Aside from writing, she follows the stock market, buying, selling and trading stocks and options. In contrast to that, she loves trips to Las Vegas where she can spend many happy hours at the Pai Gow tables. She shares a condo with her very own My Cat From Hell TV star, Allie, who manages to exude just enough affection to make her scary feral ways tolerable.
Giveaway
Great review, Amanda! This sounds like a fun, imaginative read! Glad you liked it! 🙂
Thank you so much! And it definitely was–I’m glad I got to read it! 🙂