This is one I've wanted to read for a long time. I remember asking my parents to get it for me and their refusing, on the grounds of its being about dolls and having a purple cover. Eventually they realized that it wasn't purple covered books that was making me gay, but that's another story. I found a copy of the 'The Dollhouse Murders' at a book sale the other day and dug right in.

This is a juvenile supernatural tale, but has more going on than one would think. Amy is at that age when its normal to be dissatisfied and embarrassed all the time, but she has some legitimate complaints. Her parents both work and she's often left to look after her sister Louann. Louann has an unspecified disability that often causes conflict when impulsive Louann damages something at the mall or simply takes over the conversation. Amy feels like she can't make any friends. Louann doesn't want to be left behind by her sister. Wright is sympathetic towards Amy's feelings and Louann herself is a prominent character. As much, if not more, of the plot of 'The Dollhouse Murders' is about the sisters redefining their relationship with each other and maturing as it is about solving a ghostly mystery. Unfortunately the back cover doesn't mention Louann at all and no editions of the book even picture her.

The book begins with a mall trip where Amy feels like her chance to make friends with the new girl Ellen is ruined by Louann. She loves her sister, but she feels like her parents are asking too much. After a fight, Amy runs to her Aunt who is staying in the area to clear out an old family property. Amy's aunt Clare has the idea that Amy can stay with her and help clean up the house for sale and give the sisters a break from each other. Amy is thrilled, Louann is hurt and Amy's mother is disappointed, but the plan goes ahead.

It quickly turns out that Ellen is a more understanding person than Amy gave her credit for and that there is something going on in the house. Amy knows her grandparents died many years ago in an accident, but ghostly lights and sounds coming from the dollhouse in the attic tell a different story. Together, Amy, Louann and Ellen uncover family secrets, heal wounds, and grow. This book still has a lot to offer today and a new edition is scheduled to come out this summer. Pre-order it at your local bookstore, not Amazon, and help ensure the book sticks around for a new generation of readers.

When you work at a library, it's not uncommon for discussion to center around books. So imagine, one day, my colleagues and I are discussing the juvenile classics of the 80s. (By the way, this conversation was birthed while browsing the pages of Paperback Crush by Gabrielle Moss.) From this conversation came a call to read The Dollhouse Murders. I said, sure, why not. Immediately I regretted this. I had far too many books already on my to-read pile. It was Man Booker season, and I really didn't have time for a juvenile mystery about a dollhouse. But I checked out the book anyway.

Fortunately, the copy my library had was the original 1983 hardback. Why was this a good thing? Because it transported me to a very different time. How different? Let's take a look at the novel's description from the flap:

Each time Amy goes up to the attic in the middle of the night, the dollhouse is filled with a ghostly light and the dolls have moved from where she last left them. Even though Amy's terrified, she knows the dolls are trying to tell her something. But what? Could their movements be connected to the grisly murders that took place years before?
Amy becomes increasingly alarmed when her aunt Clare, who owns the dollhouse, grows angry at her questions.
In a spine-chilling climax, Amy and her retarded sister unravel the mystery and liberate their aunt from a terrible burden of guilt. [emphasis mine]

That was the 1980s for you. Amy's sister didn't even have a name. (Fortunately, Betty Ren Wright was much more sensitive to Amy's sister than whomever wrote that copy at her publisher's. Amy's sister is named Louann by the way.) I cringed as I cracked the cover.

I admit my expectations were low. I can be a little bit of a book snob, and The Dollhouse Murders clearly wasn't going to be “my thing.” What more can I say? I was sucked right in. Taking into consideration the intended juvenile audience, The Dollhouse Murders presents an interesting cast of characters, as well as a story that is chilling and riveting. Sure, it's an absurd plot about dolls reenacting a murder, but it's well-written and compelling. It's a mildly scary mystery, not all that different from your average Stephen King story. Sure, for every part King there's one part Judy Blume, but I consider that an asset. For one thing, Blume is far better at creating believable, multi-dimensional characters than King ever was. No different here. Though The Dollhouse Murders was certainly little more than juvenile escapist lit, it was a very entertaining read.

Also a plus, the original author photo:

BAM! Check that out. Make no mistake about that cat's expression: he or she is the real writer here.

So I took some time and went through all the books that I have marked 'Read' on my GR, mainly for the Romantic Suspense square--it is my comfort, go-to genre after all.  But along the way, I found some books I'd like to list as possibilities for other squares as well.

I'm a wimp when it comes to horror, but imagine my surprise when I found how many books I've already read that could be considered horror--either because tagged at GR, or because they just seem to have horror elements.

Anyway...

I've got lists of books to recommend for Romantic Suspense, but I'm going to narrow it down to books I've personally enjoyed, that also might have a bit of a dark, gritty, chilling atmosphere.

First of all, I would recommend anything written by Laura Griffin--her murder mysteries are pretty gritty, and her characters are tough and great to follow.  Not everything she's written is a murder mystery, and there are a couple military romances slipped into her Tracers series.  But for the most part, I've pretty much enjoyed every books of hers I've read.  I personally like to read books in order if it's a series, but her books can be read out of order or as stand-alones.  Untraceable is the first book in her Tracers series, and some of my personal favorite installments include: Snapped, Twisted, Exposed, Shadow Fall, and Deep Dark.  There's also a stand-alone book called Far Gone that's not bad either.

For a more supernatural experience, I would recommend Kay Hooper's Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series, which follows unit of FBI agents who are all psychic.  The truth is, the first few sub-trilogy arcs are pretty good--the most recent ones are kind of draggy.  I personally liked the first four sub-trilogies, and here are some of my personal favorites:

-- Stealing Shadows, Hiding in the Shadows, Out of the Shadows, Touching Evil, Whisper of Evil, Sense of Evil, Hunting Fear, Chill of Fear, Sleeping Fear.

Hunting Fear has a haunted hotel setting; Stealing Shadows is the first book in the series; Out of the Shadows is the strongest book of the series and has a serial killer.

Kylie Brant's Mindhunter series is also a personal favorite--they can be read as stand-alones as well, but brief references to previous characters will sometimes come up.  

• The first book, Waking Nightmare is not a murder mystery, but a mystery nonetheless with a serial rapist.  
• The second book, Waking Evil has some very subtle paranormal stuff and some significance to do with the woods; also takes place in a small town.
• The third book, Waking the Dead has a serial killer.
• The fourth book is about a kidnapping.
• The fifth book, Deadly Dreams, is my personal favorite, with some paranormal stuff, and a serial arsonist/killer.
• The sixth book is my least favorite, but involves murder.

Cynthia Eden has a trilogy called Deadly that involves teams from a special FBI violent crimes unit.  All three books feature a serial killer, and the first book takes place in a small town:  Deadly Fear, Deadly Heat, Deadly Lies.

Leslie A. Kelly wrote two series I personally enjoyed a lot:  Black CATs and Extrasensory Agents.

Black CATs follows an FBI team that specializes in cyber crimes, and all three books involve a serial killer.  The first book takes place in a small town:  Fade to Black, Pitch Black, Black at Heart.

Extrasensory Agents follows a group of psychic paranormal investigators, so these books may apply to the 'Amateur Sleuth' square as well as 'Supernatural.'  The first and third books take place in a small town.  Cold Sight, Cold Touch, Cold Memory.

I would also like to mention Maggie Shayne's Brown and de Luca series, which was phenomenal!  The first book is called Sleep with the Lights On, and follows Rachel de Luca who, after a corneal transplant, begins to see visions of people being murdered.  So this book would work for the 'Serial/Spree Killer' square, the 'Supernatural' square, and 'Amateur Sleuth' square, since Rachel is a book author.

A non-series book I would recommend is Maggie Shayne's The Gingerbread Man, which really just works for 'Romantic Suspense' and 'Terror in a Small Town.'

I wish I had more stand-alone books to recommend, but it looks like I've mainly been reading series books.  Some other romantic suspense authors I would suggest, however, would be Nora Roberts (duh) and Jayne Ann Krentz and Linda Howard.

 I don't read as many Cozy Mysteries as MbD does, but I DO have a couple particular cozy series I happened to like:

Heather Wells by Meg Cabot -- the first book is Size 12 Is Not Fat

Lucy Valentine by Heather Webber -- the first book is Truly, Madly

Both series are five books long and very enjoyable.

I'm personally planning on reading either the Crocodile on the Sandbank or The Camelot Caper, both books by Elizabeth Peters.  If the library happens to pick up one of my book recommendations before the game ends, I've also requested Devil May Care and The Jackal's Head... which will mean I'll have too many books to choose from...

This book has probably already been mentioned, as it will fit for several other squares, but I read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (actually listened to it as a full-cast audio), and absolutely loved it.  There's murder, ghosts, supernatural... so many possibilities!

Meanwhile, I'm also going to recommend The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright, which is a children's ghost story, involving, well, the titular haunted dollhouse.  I read this when I was in middle school and it scared the crap out of me... but I'm a weenie, so that means nothing.

The Ghost Bride is also an excellent book for these two squares, but like The Graveyard Book, it can fit in several other squares as well:  Supernatural, Magical Realism, Chilling Children, Terrifying Women, Diverse Voices... and if the Ox-Headed Patrol Guards from the Underworld count as Monsters, then it can go in that square as well.  And at the risk of giving away some of the end of book stuff, there's a mythological creature in there somewhere too.

Phantom Evil is the first book in Heather Graham's Krewe of Hunters, another series about paranormal law enforcement in the FBI--a bunch of psychics are gathered into a team to investigate murders that might involve ghostly happenings or a haunted house.

I didn't think I'd have anything to contribute to this square, but apparently I've read enough Amanda Quick historical romance/mysteries to have a few recommendations!

'Til Death Do Us Part, The River Knows, Wait Until Midnight, and any of her Arcane Society historical novels would go in this square.  The Arcane Society books also count for 'Supernatural.'  

I consider Deanna Raybourn's books all 'Gothic', though some of them would also fit into the 'Darkest London' square.  I think Silent in the Grave, The Dark Enquiry, and her Veronica Speedwell books all take place in London.  All the books from both Lady Julia Grey and Veronica Speedwell would count towards 'Amateur Sleuth' as well.

• Julia Grey series:  Silent in the Grave, Silent in the Sanctuary, Silent on the Moor, The Dark Road to Darjeeling, and The Dark Enquiry
• Veronica Speedwell series:  A Curious Beginning and A Perilous Undertaking

Amanda Stevens' The Graveyard Queen is another great series, considered Gothic, with ghosts and hauntings and murder and mayhem.  I've only read the first three books, but recently learned that there are now six total.  The first book is The Restorer, and while this book would also fit the 'Romantic Suspense' square, there really isn't a whole lot of romance in it.  I would even consider this series to be 'horror' as well.  The second book, The Kingdom, takes place in a small town.

I've only got one author I can think of to recommend for this square: Juliet Marillier.  She loves to use a forest or woods as her setting for a lot of books.  For instance, her young adult high fantasy series, the Shadowfell trilogy (Shadowfell, Raven Flight, The Calling) involve a lot of travel back and forth a forest, and there are fairy creatures significant to the forest.

Moonlight has already mentioned Daughter of the Forest in a previous post, a book that I've been meaning to read forever now, and has been sitting on my bookshelf for at least three years.

Another young adult fantasy by Marillier is Wildwood Dancing, which involves anything from the supernatural, to talking frogs, to vampires, to a Gothic setting in a Transylvanian castle, to a significant forest with fairy creatures and a witch named Draguta.

***

Now that I've rambled on forever, I'm going to hop on over to Murder by Death's Halloween Bingo reading lists and put some of these suggestions there.  This post had been started mainly for the 'Romantic Suspense' square, and there are a lot of other Rom-suspense books I would recommend, but I wanted to focus more on the murder mysteries if I could.

If anyone has missed it, here is a link to MbD's compiled list of links to the Halloween Bingo reading lists.

The Dollhouse Murders is the first chapter book that my sister ever read (over 25 years ago!), and ever since then she's been encouraging me to read it. I'm glad I did!

The book, aimed at 4th-6th graders, is creepy and chilling without being too intense for kids in this age range. In fact, today's kids probably wouldn't even bat an eye at the "scary" stuff, so I guess the label "creepy" should be taken with a grain of salt. Be that as it may, I enjoyed the eerie aspects of the book, and I also liked the way the author dealt with the more real world issues in her character's lives. Issues of responsibility, independence, guilt, self-reproach, family were all dealt with in believable ways, and the author, Betty Ren Wright skillfully avoided heavy handedness when approaching these issues.

I'm not usually a fan of chapter books aimed at upper elementary kids, but this one had a certain appeal. Wright was careful to give these kids a story that honors their budding maturity while still recognizing the idea of age appropriateness. A fun read that I would have no problem putting into my niece's hands.

Hmm..... Nostalgia is wonderful, isn't it?

I remember reading this book when I was still in middle school. It was my first ghostly mystery story and it had every little part of exciting, spine-chilling thrill, as far as I can remember. I was young and I was easily startled and this book had the elements to make me afraid to sleep at night.

Here I am today as an adult, reminiscing and rereading an old childhood favorite, chosen by myself and my BFF as our next Mini Book Club read. It really DOES give off quite the nostalgic feels.

And I'm glad that this book is still as good as I vaguely remember it to be.

I'm not gonna lie -- this isn't the best book in the world and it reminds me of why I used to be such a drama queen when I was younger. Books like these typically highlight pretty well the personality and behaviors of young children when their worlds revolved around very few things. And then the slightest upset or excitement would merit the most dramatic responses.

It also highlighted that sense of loneliness that a lot of us felt growing up with siblings who seemed to garner more attention from Mom and Dad than we would have liked. You always feel like you're being picked on, or that Mom and Dad just don't love you as much as your brother or sister. In my case, it was three brothers I felt had stolen my mother and father's attentions from me. Whenever they would do or say anything that seemed unfair, I took it to an all new level of spoiled brat.  

I always told myself that my parents were never fair when it concern me and my brothers -- that whole Double Standards thing... or the fact that Asian families just tend to favor males more than females (which still holds true, but my state of drama-ness is a bit more indifferent now-a-days and less emo).

Looking back, even though The Dollhouse Murders may not have been the best book in the world (it had a lot of tacky prose and dialogue, though it was written in the 80s), it was one of the books during my childhood that had one of the biggest impacts on me. Aside from shaping my slightly Drama Queen-ish personality throughout middle school and high school, it also cemented my love for writing and for mysteries (specifically mysteries with a paranormal flare). I remember finishing this book and always thinking how awesome it would be if I could write my own ghostly mystery -- with a little girl just like me, with a made up family, a made up set of friends, a made up love interest, made up fun, and an awesomely creepy, ghost story.

I might have come up with several different story ideas, written drafts of the first few chapters of several different stories. I've never finished writing a story in my whole life, but the desire to write a ghost mystery for young adults and children has always been there. Eventually that desire to write a specific ghost story gave way to wanting to write altogether. Millions of story ideas and unfinished drafts later, I've still never succeeded.

My calling is really just to read brilliant works by other brilliant minds, I think.

The Dollhouse Murders, upon this second reading is still enjoyable and addictive. Even though you know what's going on, you still like the progression. Even though the ghostly occurrences don't seem as eerie as they did when I was twelve, there's still a feeling of dark shadows and quiet whispers lingering in the back of my mind.

I stopped reading nearing the end of the book to go out into the dark kitchen to find some snacks only to subconsciously shiver at the darkness and the shadows. It was kind of exhilarting, really. And amusing.  And I sometimes startle easy ever since the days of my brother standing in the dark of that space between the bathroom door and the hallway, saying the words "Do you need to pee?" in a low hum of a voice and scaring the crap out of me as I headed down the hall with my mind on other things.

This book has always been enjoyable and Betty Ren Wright (despite my most recent run in with a less than agreeable book) has admittedly excellent writing style and skill. The way she weaved the ghostly happenings around some of the other of Amy Treloar's pre-teen problems was done quite well. Although after reading both books in succession (Crandall's Castle as well as this book), I'm starting to wonder about the adults in Ms. Wright's written worlds. Are they purposely written with subtle hints of being just as stubborn and irrational as children are seen to be? Because even the adults will say or do things that make me wonder...

Then again, I guess those things could still be fairly legitimate as realistic behavior in adults, parents especially.

Just as a coworker of mine has told me before: Parents don't mean to be unfair. They love all their children in different way, is all. And if it turns out that one child happens to need a little more attention than another, said parents will act accordingly. In contrast, if one child seems to have it all together and seems strong enough to take care of him or herself, then that's one less issue that needs to be dealt with.

Something like that, I think, is what she meant.

Who'd have thought that a simple ghostly myster, reread a little over a decade later would bring so much insight to my life (not that I didn't already figure a lot of that stuff out, but whatevs).