The Ghost of Midnight Lake

The Ghost of Midnight Lake

Lucy Strange

Scholastic, 2021 323 pages

Grades 4-7

Mystery/Horror

Twelve-year-old Agatha has a privalidged life in a country manor house in turn-of-the-century Britain, that is, until her parents pass on and a horrible cousin inherits the entire estate. Agatha is sent to live with a poor goose farmer, now said to be her real father, while her biological mother remains unknown. At he funeral of who Agatha thought was her father, she meets orphaned Bryn and makes her first friend and ally. Agatha discovers that she was meant to inherit two precious jewels, only they are both cursed and missing. Cousin Clarence desperately wants to get his greedy hands on the jewels and will stop at nothing to get them. While on a lonely island at the stroke of midnight at the dawn of a new century, Aggie sees a hazy girl in the distance. Is it a ghost? Who is she and how is she connected to Agatha? All of these answers and more are discovered as the two new friends dodge Cousin Clarence , seek Aggie's inheritance, and see that justice is served.

I like Lucy Strange a lot. She writes classically British stories with excellent plots and wonderful fully-developed characters. I was very excited to see that she has a new title and was not disappointed. The Ghost of Midnight Lake has a gothic vibe with a dreary British setting and a creepy ghost who pops up at unexpected moments. Readers love a rags-to-riches or in this case riches-to-rags story and this has the heart of The Little Princess, where the pampered rich girl becomes a humble goose girl. Aggie is a feisty and resourceful character who readers will both be inspired by and find relatable. The mystery is solve-able and readers will get there before Aggie does. Horror stories are currently trending, so the ghost in the title will certainly draw-in readers. There is more mystery than actual ghost, which may disappoint, and the scariest character turns out to be human. A comforting and satisfying escape perfect for a rainy afternoon with a cup of tea.