The Running Bibliophile

The Doll in the Garden, A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn is a ghost story about ten year old Kristi and her mother moving into the upstairs apartment of Miss Cooper's house. Miss Cooper is an elderly woman who dislikes children and warns Kristi to stay out of the garden or there would be consequences. When a white cat that casts no shadow appears in the garden and a little girl crying could be heard coming from there, Kristi decides to investigate. I discovered Mary Downing Hahn's books at my middle school library and decided to check one of them out when I couldn't find any books I wanted to read. The Doll in the Garden was one of the first books I read by Mary Downing Hahn and contributed to my love of reading books in the horror, suspense, and thriller genres. In my quest to reread my way through my childhood, I decided it was time to find out if this story was as good as I remembered. Although I remembered the basic storyline of the book, I didn't recall all the...

Whenever I shop at BJ’s Wholesale Club, I always make a point to stop by the book section. I can usually find something I’ve been wanting to read at a great discount compared to other stores. This time, though, I was disappointed to see the selection had shrunk from two tables down to just one. That said, I did have a nostalgic moment when I spotted The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn. I first discovered her books in middle school and quickly fell in love with her storytelling, so seeing one of her titles on the table felt like a blast from the past. Naturally, I had to pick it up. While I’m not exactly the target audience for this book, I’d still give it four out of five stars. I was able to predict the outcome fairly early on, but that didn’t take away too much from the experience. The story reminded me a bit of The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story , though it didn’t quite reach the same level of creepiness or suspense. Even so, it was well written ...