Becky's View: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington
♦publisher: Scholastic Point
♦release date: January 1st, 2013
♦hardcover, 304 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone
♦source: from publisher for honest review

A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

Review: I love Kim Harrington's writing style.  Her books are always quick-paced page-turners, unfolding these great stories that draw you right in and keep you glued there until the last page.  The Dead and Buried was certainly no exception and has all the elements of a good old classic ghost story.  Rooms getting mysteriously upended, ghostly nightmares and possessions,  there's even a good creepy oujia board scene---and nothing creeps me out more than when there are little kids mixed up in the haunting. 

Jade has just moved into her dream house with her father, stepmother, and 5-year-old brother, whom she adores.  So when creepy things start happening and her brother seems to be the ghost's target, Jade is determined to do anything to make it stop.  Her father is away and she asks her stepmother for help, only to be accused of trying to start trouble.  So she's on her own.  The story also gives us little glimpses into the head of Kayla Sloane, the girl who is haunting the house. In life she was mean, shallow, spoiled, ...just not a very nice person. Maybe a few cracks in her cruel soul, but not many.   And in death she is pure evil.  Kayla wants to know who murdered her and unless Jade solves the mystery, she's threatening Jade's little brother's life.  See what I mean...EVIL.   So Jade is racing to get to the bottom of the mystery, getting in with Kayla's old friends so she can weed out the murderer---but what happens when nearly all of them have a motive?

There are characters to love and characters to hate in this one.  I really enjoyed reading Kayla, she has so much love for her brother, so much pain over losing her mother.  She has some faults and confidence issues, but there is a real kindness to her.  From her mother, she has a love for collecting natural stones and it was an interesting part of her character, the way she used them as sort of talismans although she herself wasn't quite convinced that she believed in their power. The rest of the mixed cast of characters were great, a few of your typical cliché teen personas, but also a few really unexpected surprises.   The romance was sweet, but of course, clouded by secrets and suspicion since the sweet, artsy Donovan had one major motive as well!  

The Dead and Buried is perfect for fans of creepy, ghostly murder mysteries---it's a quick entertaining read that keeps you guessing until the very end!

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