Midnight at the Barclay Hotel

Five people in town receive invitations telling them they have each won an all-expenses-paid weekend at the beautiful Barclay Hotel in the mountains. When JJ, an amateur ghost hunter, sees his mother’s invitation, he begs to go along. The Barclay is supposedly haunted. At another house, Penny begs her grandfather to go and take her with. Both kids get to go, and it turns out Mr. Barclay has been murdered, and it is up to the five guests (and the two kids) to solve the mystery. Four of the guests are suspects! The kids meet Emma, their age, who lives at the hotel, and they decide they should work together to solve the mystery. But not everything is as it appears, and everyone seems to have secrets. Are there really ghosts at the Barclay? Can these kids figure this murder mystery out?

Author Fleur Bradley has written a real kid-friendly page-turner with lots of red herrings and difficult obstacles for the kids to overcome. The characters are relatable, the writing is terrific, and the story is compelling. Fun illustrations by Xavier Bonet will help kids, even reluctant readers, stick with it. This is a winner.