Reviews for Mystery of the Crying Ghost - Rita Hsu Syers:

"Good story - all working towards a goal"
April 26, 2007 | By Reader Views www.readerviews.com (Austin, Texas)
Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 9) for Reader Views (3/07)

"The Mystery of the Crying Ghost" is a book about Chloe Wendleton. She is a young girl who is having difficulty adjusting to a different school. She just feels like she doesn't fit in at all. She has her two dependable pets to keep her company. Killian is her golden retriever and Isis is a Himalayan cat. Her family tells her that she is just hearing things when she says that she hears a child crying.

Is it all in her imagination? Isis and Killian seem to hear the same crying. Chloe goes up into the attic with her grandfather and discovers an old newspaper. It shows that the Van Hise children, Sarah Jane and Thomas, somehow disappeared from the house without a trace. She shares the information with two of her classmates. Will Reed tells Chloe that he had heard that the house she is living in is haunted. Will is what one would call a "brain" so he gets picked on a lot. He is defended by Maya Roubideaux and her karate skills. Will is suffering from a major crush on Chloe, but his knowledge is a key to solving the case. Just when Chloe, Will and Maya can't seem to put a hand on any clues, the animals lend a paw and make discoveries of their own.

"The Mystery of the Crying Ghost" will capture the attention of any sleuth who enjoys a good story, adorable animals and friends working together towards a goal. With more books like this one, Rita Hsu Syers could easily have created another "Nancy Drew." I'm happy that she is planning her next mystery and can't wait to read it!

"Highly recommended for public and middle school library shelves."
June 10, 2007 | By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
"The debut novel of author Rita Hsu Syers, Mystery of the Crying Ghost is a novel written for young adults ages 8-12, about a young fifth-grade girl named Chloe who has a hard time adjusting to her new home. Settling into a new school and making new friends is rough, her grandfather is terribly overworked, and strange noises come from her house at night - noises that no one else notices except her beloved dog and cat. When Chloe glimpses a child peering at her from the window of an empty room, she discovers that her house is haunted by spirits who suffered a terrible tragedy fifty years ago. Chloe seeks to uncover the mystery behind the tragedy, but she needs help; grown-ups don't believe her, so she turns to two classmates, a sharp-minded genius boy and a courageous girl who studies karate, ready and willing to discover her house's hidden secret. Highly recommended for public and middle school library shelves."

"BUY THE BOOK..."
April 2008 | By Bobbi Carducci, an Expert-To-Parent Guide of Recommended Reads.
"Young readers who love a mystery will enjoy every thrilling moment of discovery as Chloe and her friends develop their own strengths, fight the evil hiding under the house and sove The Mystery of the Crying Ghost."