The Raven’s Crux by Julie Boglisch
Black Rose Writing, 2024
ISBN: 9781685133672
Available: Paperback, Kindle edition
Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com
The only drawback to The Raven’s Crux is the cartoonish, completely uninspiring cover of the book. It doesn’t do justice to the thrilling ghost story contained inside, a story that manages the “crossover” between young adult and adult fiction perfectly.
The book provides an exciting story, and at the same time does a good job exploring the nature of friendship among kids– in this case, middle schoolers.
Noah and Aiden Raven are forced to relocate their lives constantly due to their dad’s job as a private investigator, and the small town of Herisdell is just another stop in their nomadic lives. Dad isn’t a normal PI however: some of his cases involve the paranormal. He unexpectedly disappears early in the story, and Noah and Aiden are essentially on their own. Somehow, they have to take care of themselves, while at the same time they are desperate to solve the mystery of dad’s disappearance, since the cops seem to be making no headway. They have the advantage of having the ability to see and speak to ghosts, which helps, but at times puts them in some pretty terrifying situations.
While the brothers make decent detectives, the author did a good job of making it realistic for the age group. The two of them are pretty bright and can make deductions, but they aren’t infallible, like the Three Investigators were back in the 80’s. (if you remember that far back) Plus, they do get some help, in the form of their one friend, Stephen (called Phen), his mother, who provides the boys a place to stay, and young girl ghost, Mia, who accompanies them throughout the story, alternating between being helpful, protective, and madly cryptic.
It’s the dynamics between the four new friends that really holds the reader’s interest. Noah befriends Mia, while Aiden distrusts her, and the supernatural. Phen has a crush on Aiden, complicating their friendship, since Aiden doesn’t feel the same. Truth be told, as good as the brothers are for lead characters, Mia is the scene-stealer and the best part of the book. She’s perfectly drawn, as a young spirit in form who has existed for many years and feels the weight of time and her unhappy afterlife weighing down on her. It’s a real heartwarmer as she slowly gets accepted by the others and finds herself remembering some of what it was like to be human.
Oh, and did I mention the scare factor? No mistake, the author knows how to put terror into the pages: the scares in this would easily hold up in any adult horror novel. While there is no real blood needed, and implied violence only, a number of scenes are good for some real mental screams. One of the early scenes in the Raven home is quite creepy, and the scene in the deserted home full of ghosts is a real fear factory. It might actually be enough to dish out some nightmares to young readers! Based on this book, the author could certainly write an adult horror thriller, if she chose.
Time to ghost into the bottom line: this is a good one. It holds up as well or better than most of the ghost stories I have read over the past few years, and I read a lot of them. Give it a chance, it won’t disappoint. Recommended.
Reviewed by Murray Samuelson
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