Haunted Hill: A Sam & Stephanie Mystery

As a youngster, over three decades ago, I whiled away many a day reading Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries. I wouldn't trade the time I spent, turning page after page, completely absorbed, for any of the video games and other mindless distractions today's kids seem to thrive on. But that was a long time ago. It would be hard to encourage kids to read Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew mysteries today. As good as they are, the themes and references are certainly dated. That's why I am so delighted to recommend Andrew Oliver's books to kids today. Oliver has managed to capture that Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew magic in fiction that deals with modern day themes and characters. Haunted Hill, the second installment in the Sam and Stephanie Mystery Series, follows Sam and Stephanie as they solve yet another mystery. Along the way they begin to grow up as they tackle challenges today's kids will surely relate to. If you have a youngster you care about, one you would like to encourage to read, then I highly recommend the Sam and Stephanie Mystery series. Start with book one, If Photos Could Talk, followed by Haunted Hill. And when your kids are finished, relive a little of your childhood, and enjoy reading them as well.

Written by Andrew Oliver and intended for juvenile readers ages 10-14, Haunted Hill: A Sam & Stephanie Mystery is a novel that touches on serious themes. When Sam and Stephanie investigate a the Wisconsin small-town phenomenon of a mysteriously moaning hill, they uncover a secret that threatens their lives. Worse, one of Sam's brothers could be involved in notorious local drinking and drug parties. Amid the tangle of hidden motives, Sam and Stephanie also cultivate a friendship with two elderly neighbors, and search for clues to a riddle spanning the past century and a half. An adventurous and thought-provoking read for young people.