NNtG: Shivers #03: Ghost Writer

It's time to write up a few more words about Shivers. Been on a bit of a roll with the books lately, so why not pump an extra out? Well, given the last two books covered some heavy issues, I think it's fair to call this series the Russian Roulette of GB-likes. Will you get a normal horror story for kids or will you get the bullet, the most insane story ever? That's the magic of this series for lack of a better term. So type or type was written in this one? Let's find out with Ghost Writer. 

I really love this one. It's the perfect mix of creepy, silly and atmospheric. Perfect creepy atmosphere with the cemetery and the bright moonlight in the background. Perfect creepiness of the skeleton, a Shivers cover staple. And for as creepy as a skeleton using a typewriter can be, it's silly to see the skeleton all cross-legged while typing on a headstone. Makes for one of the more memorable covers the series ever offered. And if you know what that means by now, it means I'm worried about the story quality already.

Amber Elliston is upset because her family is moving from New York to a small town called Jackson in Georgia. They don't have a McDonalds, or a movie theater or an FAO Schwartz. No more recreating that scene from Big with the piano! How will Amber survive? So, why are they moving? Well, their dad being mugged is one reason. Yes, we end our first chapter of this book with mention of someone getting a gun pulled on them. Shivers you never disappoint. Their dad was Mark Elliston, a reporter for the New York Times, and after his mugging, has decided on moving to his wife Carol's old town of Jackson to be a small town reporter. I mean, if he got mugged in Jackson would he move somewhere else for a lower reporting job? Seems more an Achilles heel than anything.

Amber is pissed about this, but it's not like she can do anything about it, the family heads to Jackson. While driving, Amber hears an old song on the radio that goes "Come to me, come to me, oh beautiful one. Come to me or I shall come to you..." Given this song, whoever sang it was already coming. As she looks out the window, she sees what looks to be her reflection, changing to a girl with curly hair who first smiles, then screams in fear. After freaking out and the family being confused about why Amber screamed, they continue to make their way to their new home in the dark while a convenient storm hits. Suddenly a giant tree branch falls on their car, shattering the windshield. The windshield's real glass. Go cry me a river! And there's my one wrestling reference per book. Gee, first mugging, now this. I think God just wants them dead.

The family wait for a bit and are soon found by Sheriff Johnson, who helps the family get to their new place, while mentioning that nobody has been to the old McAfee house since the accident. Still too early to know WHAT accident, but still. Amber wants answers about the face she saw, but nobody pays her much mind. The family make it to their house, which gives David a chance to scare Amber after the whole ghost face incident. Amber heads to her room and thinks of how she'll fix it up when the movers arrive, only to notice a house outside her window, with an old woman with dark eyes staring at her. She's just standing there... MENACINGLY! The next day, Amber tells her mom about the woman, and we learn that this is her great Aunt, Hannah McAfee. 

Hannah was one of three sisters along with Harriet, Amber's grandmother, and another daughter, and Helen. However, fifty years ago, Helen's body was found on a rock in the middle of the river, dead. While it was ruled accidental, it's believed that Hannah was the one who did it, who pushed Helen into the river after the pair fought over a boy. Hannah has stayed in an old house next door ever since. But Mrs. Elliston believes that this shouldn't pose much of a problem. All Hannah ever does is tend to a garden and then play piano. I hear lessons can be murder... Oh wait, too soon? They then hear a gunshot. Just from Sheriff Johnson who is shooting snakes. Not a mugger this time, no need to move yet. 

Sheriff Johnson then introduces his daughter Kelly to Amber, and Kelly has her own ATV 4-wheeler, which confuses city girl Amber. But the two get along fine enough. As she shows Kelly her room, she cuts one of her toes on something on the floor. After getting the wound assessed, the two find the culprit. No, not shoddy carpentry, but an old envelope with something inside. When they open it, Amber gets attacked by a palmetto bug. They read the note and it's the same "come to me" line that Amber had heard on the radio. The wind blows the note into the hole, and when Amber grabs it, she gets attacked by a rat, because at this point, the animal kingdom seems to hate her for some reason.

Before they can read the letter, Amber's mom sends the two to the mailbox by Hannah McAfee's house to drop off some bills. They ride on Kelly's 4-wheeler which makes Amber panic since she's never been on one, but is survived to see she survived. They give the mail to the mailman, but accidentally give him the letter as well. As they're about to leave, they see Hannah McAfee who... doesn't do anything to them. As the kids leave, they hear the song again. That night, Amber sets up her computer and sees she got an email... from the ghost girl. Apparently despite being dead, ghosts are fluent in AOL. The message says "Help me, help her." Quid pro quo ghost style, I see.

The next day, David takes Amber on a hike and the two find a note in the mailbox of Hannah McAfee, again saying to help her. David then admits to Amber that he saw the ghostly figure as well, and also thinks this is connected to the death of Helen McAfee. He even knows where the body was found. Kelly shows up as they find the spot. They then see an old man and a pit-bull by the river, the man taking a note similar to the one Amber found, tearing it up and throwing it into the river. The kids make a run for it and are almost caught, but now they're extra worried that maybe they just pissed off a maniac in the process. But for now, Amber needs to know what the hell's going in, and to do that, she needs to go to the newspaper office her dad now works in and find info on what actually happened the night of Helen's death.

They find the newspaper chronicling the death of Helen McAfee. She was 16 and was missing for about a day, as was Hannah. Her body was found at the river and died of massive trauma to her head. Joanne, a woman who works at the paper suspects that Hannah really was the murderer. The reason was jealousy as both girls fell for a young orphan guitarist named Jim. Helen wanted to sing for him while Hannah played piano. But both were madly in love with Jim which caused a rift between the sisters. At the night of a talent show, Helen dedicated her song to Jim and well, that was not a good idea. And that song, of course, is the one we've been hearing all book. 

That night, David and Amber see Hannah outside and the two sneak out to see what she's doing, which leads them to sneaking in the back of her truck. Hannah heads to an old cabin in the woods and starts arguing with the man, who is confirmed to be Jim, as both have also gotten notes in Helen's handwriting. The kids show up and everyone is confused. Then suddenly, the ghost of Helen arrives and says that she brought everyone here for a reason. Hannah had stopped living since that night because she was blamed for Helen's death, when in reality it was Jim. 

That night, after the talent show, the two began to argue as Helen suspected Jim was seeing Hannah when he wasn't. The argument led to Jim accidentally pushing Helen into the river, killing her. After Helen's ghost leaves, Jim begins to break stuff in a rage before Sheriff Johnson, Kelly, and Amber's parents arrive, where they relay the truth about Jim being the killer. He isn't arrested for it, since it was ultimately ruled an accident, which it was, I mean clearly. And hell, if Helen's ghost is content, which by blowing a kiss to Amber after all this happens is any sign, I'd say it's wrapped up in a neat enough package. 

We end the book with things starting to get better. Hannah is much happier and less creepy. She invites Amber to her house for piano lessons. I hear those can be accidental murder. Amber notices a picture of a pair of twins, to which we reveal that Helen and Hannah were twins. Amber then swears she sees the picture moving and Helen thanking her. 

This one was fine. Again, if you wanted a darker story, you'll be let down big time, but for a mystery story with some supernatural elements, this one does the trick. And it doesn't involve child abuse. Yay! But also, unlike Creepy Clothes, the book does have the letters matter to the story. The supernatural element the book hints at makes sense this time. In this case, the correspondence of a ghost who, I guess now knows how to write letters and invade computers, but regardless. Again though, why now? Why does Amber or David's involvement matter to the overall outcome? This really could have been something Helen solved on her own, right? Though I guess we need reputable sources who can confirm that Jim was the killer, because you otherwise have the testimony of two people who are already deemed kind of crazy. So at least Amber and David get to be more pivotal to the progress of the plot. They aren't superfluous Clay unlike the protagonists of Creepy Clothes.

Amber is an okay protagonist. Nothing outright unique about her other than being a city girl now living in the country. We don't get too many moments of her being a fish out of water, save for the ride on the 4-wheeler. But as a lead to follow, she does what needs to be done. David starts out a prankster, but becomes a decent character in his own right. Even believing Amber on everything because he too experienced them. Now, if this was Stine, this would lead to it all being a ruse to humiliate Amber, but no, they played it straight. Kelly exists mostly, but I do like that she feels like a great best friend role. In a meatier book, her role would work more as someone who helps to ingratiate Amber to living in the country. And we get enough of her to make her feel less superfluous. 

What I like about the story is the mystery, even if it's not the lengthiest or the most complex, it works as a simple mystery for kids. We get all our important plots in place, our ghost trying to tie it all together, our misdirect who has suffered in years for a crime she didn't commit to someone in her family, and the man who did commit the act managing to get away with it. I mean, it was an accident, but for the trauma he put on Hannah, the punishment wasn't severe at all. But the point of the ending is that this whole thing finally helps Hannah get her life back, what's left of it, giving us a happy ending. Or at the very least a cathartic one. 

So, again, the cover is a massive bait and switch and that's the main sticking point from giving it a higher rating. But the story we get is still solid and has a simple enough mystery for young audiences. It falls in the category of not being the bullet in a game of Shivers Russian Roulette, but that's not always a bad thing, as is the case here. It's a breezy book that's an easy recommend. Ghost Writer gets a B.