Harrington, Kim. The Dead and Buried.

Harrington, Kim.  The Dead and Buried.  Scholastic Press/Point    2012  297p  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-545-33302-3      jr/sr   Supernatural, Mystery   E-BN 

From the moment you open the book, this story captures your imagination. Jade is not thrilled to have to go to a new high school, and she can’t help but wonder how her family is able to afford their new house. Then her little brother tells her that he is seeing the ghost of a girl with black hair.

At school Jade begins making friends, and at first everything seems all right, until she tells them where she lives. Their reaction is surprising, and finally one girl tells her to check the real estate pages. Jade is shocked when she reads that a teenage girl fell down the stairs of her house and died just a few months ago.  The ghost of the girl is not happy, and wants her murder to be solved, and this places Jade in the position of doing the detective work, whether she likes it or not. Everyone is a suspect and everyone has a motive, but the most important clue is to be found in the diary of the murdered girl. Jade realizes that if she can find the diary, the killer will be revealed.

This excellent story will keep readers guessing up to the very end. A cute romance is thrown in to help lighten up the story.           

Haunted houses, Ghosts, Romance   --Magna Diaz