The Midnight Curse

A deep, raspy voice whispered, "The midnight curse has been passed on to you!" Thus begins a frightfully wacky adventure that will have young readers turning every page in spine-tingling anticipation. Lacey and her twin brother, Charlie, are visiting England to find out if they inherited anything from their reclusive uncle Jonathan, but before long, Charlie realizes he might not have inherited anything but the family curse. It's a bad one -- he'll shrivel up and die unless someone ventures to the attic to face a malevolent spirit. Curse removal is a complicated game involving a gothic cast of shifty characters. The twins sure have stirred things up, and the clock is ticking on Charlie's curse. Can they finish what they started?

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—Fraternal twins Lacey and Charlie live with their widowed mom on very little money, so when she receives a message from an attorney in Britain inviting them to the reading of their great-great-uncle's will, they head off to spooky old Blaxston Manor. Once they arrive, though, Lacey, the sensible one, sees that things are strange indeed. Peculiar voices speak from nowhere; characters appear and vanish; and something seems to want to keep them, especially panicky and clumsy Charlie, trapped in the manor. And soon enough, he learns that the curse that kept his great-great-uncle trapped in the estate—to sleep in water at night lest he shrivel up and die—is upon him as well. This story contains a good deal of threats, ghosts, and spookiness, but it's dampened by ham-handed humor, and the prose is filled with way too many exclamation points. Midnight Curse is unsubtle and undistinguished.—Walter Minkel, Austin Public Library, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Eleven-year-old twins Charlie and Lacey are shocked when their mother is contacted by Great-uncle Jonathan’s estate. No one’s heard from him in forever. But it’s been tough times for the family since their dad died, so they’re happy for a free trip to England to learn about their inheritance. Unfortunately, that inheritance comes with a curse that falls right on Charlie. Jonathan sent an innocent man to his death, and now that spirit has his hooks in the male family members until one of them has the courage to face him. This is an amazingly fast-paced story, and amusing to boot. Descriptions of chilly manor houses and chilling cemeteries are here, but mostly there is dialogue propelled with plenty of eerie action on every page. Reluctant readers will especially appreciate how quickly this moves while enjoying every moan and groan. Though Charlie and Lacey are twins, she’s the narrator and seems much older than the rather lumpen Charlie; but when it’s time to face the final fury, they do it together. Grades 3-6. --Ilene Cooper

About the Author

L.M. Falcone has worked as a teacher, a private investigator and a screenwriter. Her writing credits include television's popular preteen series Are You Afraid of the Dark?, as well as the novels Walking with the Dead, The Devil, the Banshee and Me and The Midnight Curse. She lives in Toronto.

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