The Spectre From the Magicians Museum - The House With a Clock in Its Walls 7

This is a "Bellairs-style" book, done quite nicely by Brad Strickland. What that means, though, is a very slow, very mild build-up to a rushed and unsurprising conclusion. There is some convincing byplay between Lewis and Rose Rita, and a touching scene between Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmerman. The main characters are much more fully realized than is usual for this type of book. There is also a lot, and I mean a lot, of exposition. I think that is actually helpful to a younger reader, who might want some help understanding the story and might appreciate having the tale move along at a speedy pace. However, all of that exposition means that for long stretches Lewis and Rose are just standing or sitting around having the story explained to them. If memory serves, that is, after all, part of the Bellairs style. The upshot is that this is a well constructed, well written, entertaining, and very mildly thrilling gothic-light sort of tale, with a much higher than average attention to characters and their development. I would feel comfortable recommending this to a younger reader than the publisher and commentators suggest, and would not expect this to thrill an older and more experienced reader.

Almost, but not quite faithful to the characters and books created by John Bellairs. Brad Strickland seems a bit too tentative when it comes to the horror aspect of this story, it came very late, almost like an afterthought, delivered with a great deal of reluctance. When you are dealing with something bent on harming or killing a child you simply cannot dance around the issue or keep putting it off. This book required a lot more menace, suspense, and a definite sense of urgency. Even so, I still like the characters and their bizarre adventures.

Being that it's hard to find any of the books from Lewis's series at actual bookstores, getting the digital is cheaper and does not take up more space in my bookshelf.