Summary

When the town of Spooking is chosen as the location for a horror movie, eleven-year-old resident Joy Wells is delighted. A fan of author E.A. Peugeot, she hopes that the focus on her town will help to convince people that the famous writer really did set some of his horror stories in Spooking. Later, Joy is successful in her audition to replace a young actress who has mysteriously disappeared. She’s thrilled – until a costar, who has been renting a creepy old house on the edge of town, starts to exhibit some very bizarre behaviour on the set. Movie horror becomes real-life horror as the actor, somehow transformed by a hidden evil in the house, terrifies the acting cast and production team with his increasingly dangerous actions. Sinister Scenes is the concluding title of an intriguing trilogy, The Joy of Spooking. The series features plenty of mystery and intrigue, danger, wry humour, a sophisticated vocabulary, a clever plot with plenty of twists and turns, a likeable protagonist and some memorable characters. The trail of clues scattered throughout each book will help to captivate and keep readers’ interest. Although set in modern times, the author has infused each story with a spooky Gothic tone, somewhat similar to the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Readers who have enjoyed the popular “Series of Unfortunate Events” books by Lemony Snicket would likely enjoy the Joy of Spooking trilogy as well.