Time Windows (1991)
   | When Miranda moves with her family to a new house in a small Massachusetts town, she discovers a mysterious antique--a dollhouse. Looking out through the dollhouse windows, she is shocked to realize that scenes from the lives of the big house's past inhabitants are being replayed there, and the house is exerting an evil power over the women who live there. Miranda must try to find the key to unlock the past--but in doing so she is drawn into the terrifying scenes herself! Reviews “Well wrought and entertaining.”--Kirkus ReviewsAwards
Foreign Editions
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The Glass House People (1992)
  | Beth’s mother, Hanny Lynn, hasn’t spoken to her parents or her sister, Iris, in twenty years. But she decides it’s time to set aside old grievances, so sixteen-year-old Beth and her brother, Tom, find themselves spending a sweltering summer with their mother and her family in a sleepy Pennsylvania town. More than just homesick, Beth is troubled by deep family tensions and Aunt Iris’s sudden drunken outbursts. As Beth begins to delve into family history, she discovers a chilling and inexplicable tragedy. Reviews “The book, like glass, is both mirror and window.”--San Francisco Chronicle |
Pale Phoenix (1993)
   | Miranda can’t stand Abby, a homeless girl who has come to live with Miranda’a family. Yet she also feels sorry for the hostile girl, whom she hears crying every night. That pity and anger turn to shock when Miranda learns the girls horrible secret--linked to a tragedy three hundred years old. Fifteen year old Miranda, the extraordinary heroine from Kathryn Reiss’s first novel, Time Windows, returns for a new time travel adventure. This time, it’s up to Miranda to end a lonely soul’s eternal misery. Reviews “Once again Reiss proves herself a canny practitioner of the junior gothic, blending elements of romance and suspense with confident storytelling.”--The BulletinAwards
Foreign Editions
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Dreadful Sorry (1994)
   | Ever since she can remember, seventeen-year-old Molly has been plagued by the same terrifying nightmare and an almost overwhelming fear of water. After almost drowning at a pool party, she flees to the safety of her father’s house for the summer. But Molly’s problems only intensify as she stumbles onto a series of strange connections linking herself to a girl who lived in that Cliffside house nearly a century before. Then the eerie coincidences start to form a dangerous pattern, and Molly finds herself haunted by visions that feel more like memories--memories of a time before she was even born! Reviews “Suspenseful and difficult to put down.”--VOYAAwards
Foreign Editions
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The Ghost in the Dollhouse Trilogy (1997)
   | The novels in the GHOST IN THE DOLLHOUSE trilogy (Dollhouse of the Dead, The Headless Bride, and Rest in Peace) were published by Scholastic in 1997. Some years later I reworked, remodeled, revised and reinvented the stories--also adding a lot!--until it became Sweet Miss Honeywell's Revenge: A Ghost Story, published by Harcourt in 2004. You can still find copies of the trilogy online and in used bookshops...but the 2004 novel is the best version of Zibby's ghost story. Check it out! |
PaperQuake: A Puzzle (1998)
  | Violet's paralyzing fear of earthquakes intensifies when there is a swarm of earthquakes while her family renovates an old building. An aftershock dislodges a letter addressed in 1906 to Baby V--and Violet is certain the disturbing letter is intended for her. As more mysterious writings from the past tumble into her hands with each quake, Violet and her sisters try to unravel the mystery behind these supernatural communiqués. But as the girls are drawn into the lives of people living nearly 100 years ago, ever more frequent earthquakes rattle their own lives, and they realize that their time may be running out . . . Reviews “This well-written page-turner has nicely developed characters, and readers will warm to Violet as she struggles with her fears and insecurities. Recommended.”--Burlington Public LibraryAwards
Foreign Editions
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Riddle of the Prairie Bride (2001)
 | It’s 1878. All Winter, Ida Kate and her papa have exchanged letters with Caroline Fairchild, a widow from back east who answered Papa’s ad for a bride. When Caroline accepts Papa’s proposal of marriage and arrives at their Kansas homestead, everything seems perfect--Ida Kate will have a mother again, Papa will have a wife, Caroline and her baby will have a family. So what is Ida Kate to do when she begins to sense that something is very wrong--and that her life and Papa’s may be in danger?
Check out this clip from Recorded Books: Riddle of the Prairie Bride Reviews “(This) suspenseful new story will leave you on the edge of your seat!”--Pleasant Company PublicationsAwards
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Paint by Magic (2002)
  | Something is terribly wrong with Connor's mom--she keeps slipping into bizarre trances. Connor suspects that the
key to his mom's strange behavior is an old art book filled with paintings of a woman who looks exactly like her. But the artist who created those paintings died before his mom was even born.
Connor gets his chance to break the evil link between the past and the present when he is mysteriously whisked back in time to the 1920s. But can he save his mom--and himself--before it's too late? Reviews “Reiss's eerie time travel mystery will snag readers on the first page and hold them until the last.”--BooklistAwards
Foreign Editions
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The Strange Case of Baby H (2002)
 | It’s 1906. Hours after the great San Francisco earthquake hits, Clara finds a baby abandoned on her doorstep--apparently orphaned in the quake. Clara’s family welcomes the baby, hoping he can fill the void left by the death of Clara’s brother two years before. But Clara soon suspects the baby is not what he seems--and that he is in danger. Pursuing her suspicions through the devastated city, Clara endangers her own life as she encounters both tragedy and unexpected
blessings.
Reviews “(A) real page-turner, with heroines young women can easily identify with.”--Bangor Maine NEWSAwards
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Sweet Miss Honeywell's Revenge: A Ghost Story (2004)
  | Zibby Thorne knows there’s something wrong with the dollhouse she bought for her twelfth birthday. She hears strange rustling noises coming from inside, and the dolls seem to move around by themselves. Even scarier, the games played in the dollhouse are coming true in real life--only in warped, twisted kinds of ways.
So when people start having bizarre accidents, Zibby is certain thedollhouse is responsible. She’s just not sure how. As she searches for answers, she discovers what she has feared all along--the dollhouse is haunted! Now it’s up to Zibby and her friends to find a way to stop the troubled ghosts, especially the cruel Miss Honeywell. Because if they don’t, one of them may have to pay for the mistakes of the past and the present . . . with her life. Reviews “Reiss's deliciously creepy tale is a solid addition to the haunted dollhouse genre... delivers a good dose of shivery entertainment.”--Kirkus Reviews |
Blackthorn Winter: A Murder Mystery (2006)
  | The last place fifteen-year-old Juliana wants to be is halfway around the world in Blackthorn, England, an idyllic seaside artists' colony her mother has dragged her off to while her parents weather a trial separation. Juliana misses her father terribly and doesn't understand why her mother needs to travel so far to resurrect her artistic self, which she claims to have lost in the marriage.
Soon after they arrive in the tiny village of Blackthorn, the artists' colony is set on its heels by the murder of one of its own. Juliana feels compelled to solve the crime, but she is shocked and frightened when it seems that clues in the matter are hitting a little too close to home. Can she figure out who the murderer is before anyone else--herself included--gets hurt? Reviews “...a wonderfully visceral setting and intriguing cast of characters.”--Washington DC Public LibraryAwards
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The Tangled Web: A Julie Mystery (2009)
 | Julie really likes the new girl in her class, Carla Warner. Still, there is something odd about her. The things Carla says don't quite add up, and she avoids answering questions about her family. At first Julie is sure there's a sensible explanation, but soon she starts to wonder what's really going on. A disturbing discovery leads her to realize that her new friend may be in real danger! Reviews “WOW....WOW......WOW!!!! What a story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have collected and read several of the AG mysteries...this one is at the TOP. I was utterly amazed at the absolute historical/yet fictional, accuracy in this story... I could NOT put it down!”--Historybuff |
Puzzle of the Paper Daughter: A Julie Mystery (2010)
 | When Julie discovers a mysterious note written in Chinese, she brings it to her friend Ivy to translate. The note promises great treasure, but it doesn't quite make sense—and Julie suspects it might be written in a secret code. Soon after, the girls' beloved dolls are stolen, and Julie can't help feeling there's a connection between the stolen dolls and the mysterious note. Will Julie and Ivy find the treasure? And will they ever get their dolls back?
Reviews “Best mystery ever! ...By far, the best of the AG mysteries! It contains so many historical facts about Chinese immigration of the early 1900's that I learned many new things. The mystery... is well written and intriguing. It keeps you turning the page to see what Julie & Ivy are going to discover next. Grade A”--agrescue |
A Bundle Of Trouble: A Rebecca Mystery (2011)
 | Rebecca is put in charge of the new neighbors' baby—and a kidnapper is on the loose in New York City! So when strangers shows up asking a few too many questions about the baby, Rebecca starts to worry. Could the child be in danger? After a terrible mistake, it is up to Rebecca to make things right.
Reviews “This is by far my favorite American Girl mystery! (And I've read almost all of them) It has plenty of excitement and suspense. You're not going to want to set this one down! The best mystery and Rebecca book yet--a must read!!!”--Imaginationworld |
The Silver Guitar: A Julie Mystery (2011)
 | When an oil spill threatens the sea birds of San Francisco, Julie is eager to lend a hand by helping with an auction to raise money for the clean-up efforts. But then her friend T.J. finds himself in terrible trouble . . . and Julie just can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something from her. Can Julie follow the clues before it's too late to help her friend?
Reviews “This is a great book! Five stars! I couldn't stop reading it! I skipped dinner to read it!”--"A Kid's Review" (Amazon) |
