Scarlet and Ivy, Book Three - The Dance in the Dark

I'm a bit behind in posting my reads - not for lack of reading though!  I just have had a number of things come up in the past month that have taken my focus ... but I'm back, and hopefully can get back on a regular schedule here.

Now, for poor Scarlet and Ivy Gray, it seems there are always more secrets lurking just around the corner. First, Ivy was forced to impersonate her dead sister, Scarlet, at the private school where her sister attended - only to discover that her sister never died, but was locked away in an insane asylum by the school's headmistress! And just when she got her sister back and a new headmaster took over the school, they discovered that he was behind the death of a young student twenty years ago - only to find that the student he killed had the name their late mother had used! So, now, that begs the question - just who is their mother, and why did she lie about who she was?

Thus begins the third mystery in the Scarlet and Ivy series, The Dance in the Dark. Scarlet and Ivy are back at school, but without their friend Ariadne. Things seem calm, Mrs. Knight has taken temporary charge of the school, and their beloved ballet teacher, Miss Finch, has announced that the ballet class will be performing Sleeping Beauty this year. Scarlet is determined to get the lead part, but she, of course, faces competition from her nemesis, Penny, believes she is perfect for the part. And then Ariadne returns to school! Before the competition can begin, however, Miss Finch disappears! Without warning, without so much as a good-bye, she is gone, and in her place is their new ballet teacher, Madame Zelda. No big deal, right? Wrong!

The horses are suddenly released from the stables. A note is intercepted that reveals what the girls believe to be a cry for help from their former teacher. The school lunch is poisoned, making most everyone in the school sick. A student is pushed from a second floor window. The danger keeps escalating, and parents begin pulling their students from the school. Scarlet believes the new ballet teacher is behind the recent events, but Ivy is not so sure. She fears it may be worse than that. Could it be...the return of...Miss Fox? Something is definitely going on, and Scarlet and Ivy (and Ariadne!) are determined to get to the bottom of it before the production of Sleeping Beauty puts everyone to sleep - permanently!

A very strong entry into this series, author Sophie Cleverly (still love that last name!) keeps the mystery fresh, the characters engaging, and the story fun. The underlying storyline regarding the girls' mother continues in this book as well, with more of the secrets revealed, and a surprising revelation that leads to Scarlet and Ivy finding a new relative - someone who might actually care about them. Cleverly reaches into the psyches of both Scarlet and Ivy in this book, and readers will get to see the characters mature in a number of ways as they deal with both the mystery at the school and the mystery of their own mother.

As we get a number of questions answered and most of the mysteries resolved with this third book, the only question that remains is what happens next? As Ivy so aptly puts it on the final page, "Anything could happen. But that doesn't matter. Because we are together..."

RATING:  9 blood-encrusted walking sticks out of 10 for keeping the Gothic elements of stately old estates, dark attics, and even darker secrets in young adult mysteries!