The Clackity and The Nighthouse Keeper

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 The Clackity, by Lora Senf
The Nighthouse Keeper

I was recommended this title by Leila at Bookshelves of Doom, who is on Substack now.  I'm so glad I read it, and I can't wait to get my hands on The Loneliest Place, the final book in the Blight Harbor trilogy, which comes out soon.

Blight Harbor is the seventh-most-haunted town in America, so Evie has become familiar with the supernatural since she moved to town a few years ago to live with her Aunt Des.  But she's never been allowed to explore the old abattoir on the other side of town; that place is haunted in a very bad way.  Des, however, has a job to do there, and Evie witnesses her disappearance.  To get Des back, Evie has to make a deal with the Clackity, the monster that inhabits the place, and go through to the other side of reality on a quest.

Under a dark sun, Evie has just hours to find her way through seven houses and rescue her aunt from the even worse monster pursuing her.  She has a few tools to use, and her friend Bird to help.  She'll need all her wits about her to survive, and the Clackity will cheat her if it can.

_______________________

Just a few weeks later, the resident ghosts of Blight Harbor -- beloved members of the community -- start disappearing.  They didn't even say goodbye!  Did they go on, like they're eventually supposed to, or were they taken?

Evie has promised not to get herself into another Dark Sun Side situation, but she is tricked through a door by the Nighthouse Keeper, who has been stealing ghost souls and generally operating as a problem even by the rules of this place.  Evie meets Lark, a ghost who has been trapped there for the past century, and Lark's spider friend Clyde, and together they journey to the Nighthouse in a desperate attempt to save Evie's friends before it's too late.

This is a great story!  Super spooky and scary -- this is a middle-grade novel, for about 10+.  Senf gives a shout-out to John Bellairs, which I appreciated, and Evie's story is in a similar spirit.  Loved it.  Read this! 


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