A review by corncobwebs
The Red Room Riddle: A Ghost Story by Geff Gerlach, Scott Corbett

fast-paced ghostly suspense! scott corbett’s books remind me of john bellairs - they’re both vintage creepiness. even if the setting is old-timey, i don’t think that matters as long as the story is good. this one was a good ol’ haunted house story, which is totally my jam. since i’m a horror fan and have watched a lot of scary movies and read a lot of scary books, the “twist” didn’t surprise me (spoiler alert: Jamie Bly is really a ghost, and the house he takes bill and bruce to is a ghost version of the ramshackle mansion from the beginning), but i didn’t mind too much. I loved the red room setting and how bill brought up the fact that the decks of battle ships used to be painted red so that blood wouldn’t show after violent gun fights. Made you feel like something really sinister was going on in that red room. I also loved how the “slaughter of the innocents” tapestry seemed to come alive - it’s not often that the murdering of babies comes up in children’s literature, so that was a shocker more than anything else. in the end, bill continues to be a fact-seeking skeptic, convinced that Jamie hypnotized them into thinking they had all those paranormal experiences. bruce is more willing to believe the unbelievable, and in the end, it’s up to readers to decide which side they’re on.

I’d recommend this book, but i think it’s out of print and only a couple libraries in our system have it. it would be a great addition to a “spooky books for halloween” display.