The Dollhouse Murders

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright (Holiday House, 1983.)

Confession: I almost returned this book to the library unread. The cover on my copy(which has since been updated) was so dated and downright ugly, I assumed the book would be dated, too. It wasn't.

Granted, there weren't cell phones, or even answering machines when the book was set. Other than that, the book has aged beautifully. Meaning it's an old school mystery that a kid could pick up right now and love. (Versus new school mysteries, which I think tend to have more bells and whistles--puzzles! word games! cool first person narrators! That's fine and all. But there's something to be said for the kind of mystery you can retell to your kids in the car over and over until they're under the impression that it happened to your own family.)

Plus, this is the rare ghost story/true mystery combination. Our heroine is actively trying to solve a mystery, and ghosts are helping her. I love this kind of story. (In some ghost story/mysteries, the ghost story is the pulled pork sandwich; the mystery is the side of cole slaw if not the optional pickles.)

Um...anyway, the plot: Amy Treloar is charged with babysitting her sister, Louann, who has brain damage, every day. She loves Louann, but the constant babysitting is weighing on her. After fighting with her mom, she rides her bike to her grandparent's big old home. They passed decades ago, but her Aunt Clare has moved into the home to clean it up before it goes on the market. Seeing that Amy needs a break, Clare asks her to stay and keep her company for a while.

In the attic, there is a dollhouse that Amy thinks is beautiful--it's an exact replica of the family home--complete with a grandmother and grandpa doll, and one of Clare as a teenager and Amy's father as a little boy. (The two siblings were raised by their grandparents. However, Clare really hates the dollhouse--it reminds her of the bad relationship she had with her grandparents, who in hindsight had been trying to protect her from a dangerous boyfriend.

To Amy's shock, the dollhouse pieces appear to move on their own when Amy isn't watching. As she learns that her grandparents were murdered in the home, she realizes the dolls are trying to help her solve the crime. Unfortunately, Clare, who is a bit of a hothead, thinks Amy is reenacting the murder out of curiosity.

Finally, Clare understands that the house is haunted--probably by her grandmother. With the help of the dolls, Amy, Clare and Louann (who in the end also has to stay with Clare) solve the murder...in a really cool way.

The Verdict: Old School Mystery at its best/plus great ghost story/mystery combo.