Suppose you had an invisible friend. (I did. His name was Rudy, and he would come visit me whenever I was taking a bath. I last heard from him over 50 years ago, but it does make me look twice at any Rudys I meet, and wonder if he was the cad that deserted a 4 year old. But I digress.) So, suppose you had an invisible friend, and the two of you shared your thoughts from the instants you were born. And suppose your name was Kami, your father was half Japanese, and you lived in a little English village, called Sorry-in-the-Vale. Having an invisible friend you could talk to in you head wasn't common amongst the other villagers, (in fact they thought you quite peculiar for being able to do so.) But, you're bright, articulate, inquisitive, and want to be a reporter. You've got a loyal friend, endearing family, and a mind that wants to squirrel out any news story it can, since you run the school newspaper.
So when the Lynburn family that buit the singularly creepy stone mansion on the hill eons ago returns after being away all of your lifetime, you smell a story. And indeed, there may be one, but first you have to get past all the creepy things that happen: animals being sacrificed in the woods, someone's attempt to kill you, and other weird stuff. Plus there are the Lynburn cousins, two boys your age, one clean cut and preppy, one Marlon Brando in The Wild One delinquent to contend with. But you've got the voice in your head to comfort you, laugh with -- until it turns out that bad boy cousin has a voice in his head, too, and guess what? It's you.
Bad things continue to happen in Sorry-in-the-Vale. Kami and her merry band of misfits try to find out what's happening. And it's a good reading ride, snazzy Gothic, in a YA blend. How cool is that?
Since I've been snookered, I'll pick up book two in the series when I get a chance. After all, I really liked some of the dialogue, and the cover art was good.
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