"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" —Midwest Children's Book Review
After the skeleton plows them over, Sammy and her friends look to see what he was running from. That's when they find Frankenstein tied to a chair. Someone's taking "trick or treat" way too far!
When Sammy starts to dig into what really happened Halloween night, she's amazed at how many people have something to hide. Of course, Sammy's got a few secrets herself. And more than a few tricks up her sleeve.
The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.
From the Publisher
"Artfully throwing in clues, red herrings, and well-timed revelations, Van Draanen keeps her heroine on the hop...Sammy is as resourceful and tough as ever, and the breathless pace of this adventure will rivet readers from page one."—Kirkus Reviews
Children's Literature - Ru Story-Huffman
Sammy is a seventh grader who loves to solve mysteries. Twenty years ago, a family had its heirlooms stolen by a man in a skeleton costume. Now, Sammy is the one who may be able to solve that crime. The fast-paced and well-written story of Sammy Keyes is one that will delight and entrance those who read it. Of special note is the interest that will be generated by middle school readers, because Sammy is actually Samantha Keyes, who lives with her grandmother and is intelligent, fun loving and willing to try anything to solve a mystery. Fun for all who like a mystery, and a great choice for Halloween.
School Library Journal
Gr 5-8-While living a surreptitious life sneaking in and out of Gram's adults-only apartment complex, Sammy observes the unusual in the usual world. Halloween finds her and her friends mustering nerve to wend their way through dense shrubbery to the front door of scary Bush House to trick-or-treat when they are nearly knocked down by a "skeleton man" scurrying away with his loot in a pillow case. Sammy peers into the house to discover it's on fire, rescues its owner, and becomes embroiled in his family history. Her quick switches between adult intuitiveness and childish pranks are in keeping with a personality that neither thinks twice about rushing into a burning house nor about exposing the misdemeanors of a classmate via the school's public-address system. Only Sammy and a few other characters are developed to any extent. The nosy neighbor, the weak grandmother, and the cantankerous cops are examples of stereotyped adults. Sammy's classmates run the gamut of sweet and naive friends to snide and snotty enemies. However, readers will enjoy the mystery, hijinks, plotting, and adult comeuppance. Occasional black-and-white drawings illustrate the book. A fun read, particularly for fans of the previous book about this young sleuth.-Lynda Short, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Lexington, KY
Kirkus Reviews
The live-wire young sleuth who debuted in Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief (p. 502) catapults into another headlong caper after scotching a murder attempt on Halloween. Nerving themselves to approach a spooky house while out trick-or-treating, Sammy and her friends find the door open, a fire set on the floor and reclusive old Chauncey LeBard tied to a chair. A robbery, it seemsþbut what's missing? Books, as it turns out: a collection of high-spot first editions. Being incurably nosy, Sammy commences to pry with a will, meanwhile countering hateful classmate Heather's latest sly attempt at character assassination by setting up a devastating public denouement. As readers of the first book know, it's not as if Sammy's life isn't already complicated; she lives illegally with her grandmother in modest seniors-only housing while her mother is pursuing Hollywood dreams, has to fend off a suspicious neighbor, and keep up with her schoolwork in the face of multiple distractions. Artfully throwing in clues, red herrings, and well-timed revelations, Van Draanen keeps her heroine on the hop, surrounding her with typecast age mates but distinctly drawn, individual adults, most of whom were introduced in the previous book. Sammy is as resourceful and tough as ever, and the breathless pace of this adventure will rivet readers from page one. (Fiction. 10-12)
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