Module #9- The Seance by Joan Lowery Nixon
Nixon, Joan Lowery. The Seance. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980.
Summary: Even though they live in the same house, Lauren and Sara could not be more different. An orphan living with her aunt, Lauren is skinny, shy, and unremarkable. Sara, a ward of the court due to wild behavior, is curving, gorgeous, and has all the boys' attention. Lauren is secretly jealous of Sara and wishes she would just go away. One night, Lauren gets her wish. During an ill-fated seance, Sara goes missing. Her body turns up the next morning followed by the body of another girl who also went to the seance. Lauren sets out to find the murderer in order to prove her innocence and more importantly escape ending up the next victim.
Tattered Cover says: This book is a quick read with an interesting setting, Eastern Texas swamplands. While it's not the most riveting or inventive storyline, it entertains. The list of characters is kept short especially for a mystery. Its simplicity will make it good for beginning mystery readers.
How to use this in a library: I think this book would be good to recommend to struggling readers who are interested in mystery. Most mystery books have complex plots and long lists of characters to keep up with. The Seance is surprisingly simple and easy to follow.
Reviews: "This is not a supernatural story, despite the title, and not a locked-room mystery either -- which we learn in pretty short order, by the way; I'm not spilling any late-harvest beans! The writing shows obvious talent. THE SEANCE is just not a very good mystery, in my opinion, so my recommendation is as lukewarm as a West Texas night in early spring." review by Wordwalker on Epinions.com
