After their father takes a new job as head gardener at England's Minerva Hall, Jim and his sister, Sal, find themselves in the perfect setting for a ghost story. After all, a stately home, a garden maze, and a ruined chapel are bound to harbor a few ghosts. Then Jim discovers that Minerva children throughout the years have died in freakish accidents, and, assisted by a mysterious child named Einstein, he witnesses reenactments of their deaths. The creep factor is compounded by the malevolent Lord Minerva, who oversees his estate from a wheelchair, recording everything with a multitude of hidden cameras. Eventually, Jim discovers the story behind the deaths and Einstein's true identity. Lord Minerva's motivation for committing a horrible crime is never fully explained. Still, readers of spooky tales will enjoy this well-paced novel that delivers all the elements of a classic ghost story with a modern twist.--Morning, Todd Copyright 2009 Booklist
