Meg and the Ghost of Hidden Springs - Mystery #4 in a series

This book is now the third of four books in this series to feature a mystery that centers around a house - Witch's Stairway involved the house that was about to be lost by the two sisters if they could not find the money to save it; the Treasure Nobody Saw centered around a house that was said to be abandoned, yet was not; and now this book features a house that is alleged to be haunted.  This is also the third of four books to feature a house that is located next to the title character's home - Disappearing Diamonds involved Mrs. Partlow's house, which is next door to Meg's home; the Treasure Nobody Saw centered around a house that could be seen from Meg's bedroom window; and this book features a house just across the river from where Meg lives. Leaves one wondering what the last two books hold in store...

 

The Ghost of Hidden Springs is actually a sad tale about the ghost of a young girl who died tragically after the entire town shunned her family and refused to attend a birthday party thrown in honor of the girl's sixteenth birthday many years before. The family up and left town after that, and since then, people have sworn they saw the girl's ghost haunting the Hannigan house.  Meg does not believe in ghosts, but even she can't explain the ghostly girl her best friend's brothers saw; nor can she explain the open window she sees on an upper floor of the house - one she knows was closed before.  She and her best friend Kerry set out to uncover the truth about what is going on, only to find that a descendant of the Hannigan family has come to Hidden Springs as an heir to the estate.  What is uncanny is the young girl's resemblance to the girl who did - in fact, she even shares the same name: Kathleen!

 

As dark as the back story is, the mystery itself is actually relatively fun.  Is there a ghost that is knocking things off walls and running down the stairs?  Did a ghost lock Kerry's twin brothers in the basement room?  Is a ghost playing the piano?  Did a ghost damage the step on the front porch, causing Kathleen's mother to fall?  Meg is determined to uncover the truth, and the electronics found in the basement room, the apple core she finds on the floor, and the shadowy figure she sees running into the woods convinces her the ghost is actually a real person.  Is someone trying to force Kathleen and her mother to leave the property?  The will of her great-aunt stipulates that Kathleen must reside in the house for at least a month, at the end of which she must throw a lavish party for the townspeople of Hidden Springs in order to inherit the house and all of the wealth that goes with it - otherwise, the bequest defaults to a second heir who remains unnamed (as the lawyer indicates that heir is not even aware of the bequest and will remain in the dark unless Kathleen fails to follow her great-aunt's instructions).

 

Meg suspects some local real estate developers who are anxious to get their hands on the property so they can tear down and build multiple houses on the land (p. 97) - which is an amazing coincidence, because the Zebra Mystery Puzzler I just read prior to this book also had the same situation, in which a real estate developer was suspected of murder just to get his hands on a large property he wanted to subdivide (The Green Lama Mystery).  Odd how I happen to read both of these books right after each other!  Meg also suspects the great-aunt's housekeeper, who Kathleen's mother hired to help clean the house and prepare it for the upcoming party.  The police chief thinks it may just be a local homeless man causing the problems, and Kerry even suggests that the unknown heir may be aware of the bequest and is trying to get Kathleen to leave.  As Meg's father tells her - she must put on her thinking cap in order to solve this one!

 

There is a moment in the story when Meg is exploring in the Hannigan house when she hears a noise in the hall, so she darts "behind one of the dusty draperies" and takes a "cautious peek" to see who it is (p. 72).  The scene reminds me of a very similar scene from the previous book, where Meg is hiding behind a curtain while an intruder breaks into the library of that house (a scene depicted on the cover of that paperback).  Interesting that identical scenes like this would be used in both both books, particularly one after another.

 

One thing I was glad to see in this story is the return (albeit very briefly) of Meg's Siamese cat, Thunder (p. 103).  Considering the fact the covers to the paperback printings of this series show Meg and Thunder under her name, one would think the cat would have a larger role in the series.  Sadly, such is not the case.

 

The original hardback printing of this mystery features art by Cliff Schule (who also continues to provide the interiors) and depicts a scene from the end of the story, where Meg and Kerry, wearing their costumes from the party thrown by Kathleen's mother, head outside to see if they can hear the ghost of Kathleen's long dead ancestor.  The later paperback version of the book features a cover by Olindo Giacomini, which shows Meg watching a ghostly figure retreat into the woods.  This scene does not specifically appear in the book, although there is a moment where Meg does see a furtive figure fleeing into the woods one night (although it is not a ghost, and she is aware of that).

 

This fourth entry into the series is not bad at all, but the culprit is fairly easy to spot, and even this person's motive is relatively simple to figure out.  Of course, the age group for which the book is intended might not find it quite so easy as an adult reader!

 

RATING:  8 old homemade transmitters out of 10 for another fun-filled mystery that gives Meg a chance to help yet another family in need!