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Zack's aunts are coming for a visit; they are his father's sisters and he has never met them before. They are bringing three of their cats with them, the three that travel well. Virginia, Hannah, and Sophie are herbologists. They are also the aunts who helped George, Zack's father, lose his ability to see ghosts. They can offer Zack this same cure, although he's not altogether sure he wants it. It has been, so far, a mixed blessing for Zack. It is Halloween time, and Aunt Ginnie gives Zack and his friends Malik and Azalea permission to rummage through her bags (and there are many of them) in search of costume materials. One of the things they find is a black stone heart puzzle. Malik figures out how to unlock the secret of the puzzle; even very young readers will know that this is NOT a good idea! Unlocking the black heart unleashes the ghosts of the Ickleby family from their crypt, where the aunts placed them years ago. These ghosts, naturally, have bad feelings toward any member of the Jennings family. They were none of them good guys to begin with. Things do not bode well for the town of North Chester. This is the third in the Zack Jennings series. He has done some growing up since the first book, as have his friends. North Chester is pretty much any small town in New England, and Grabenstein keeps that ordinariness while still providing other-world evils for Zack and his friends to battle. One suspects that the police blotter in North Chester would make for some amazing reading since the Jennings have moved back to town. Grabenstein also has Zack, and other characters, deal with real-life bad guys. Bullies tend to get their come-uppance, for example. Parents looking for reading material (for middle-school boys in particular) don't need to start with the first book, although it couldn't hurt for readers to watch Zack grow up and mature, to see that things can change for the better. § P.J. Coldren lives in northern lower Michigan where she reads and reviews widely across the mystery genre when she isn't working in her local hospital pharmacy.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, July 2011
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