Book picks similar to
Phantom Victory by Pamela F. Service
historical-fiction
ghosts
mystery
young-adult
The Lost Heir
E.G. Foley - 2012
Foley presents The Gryphon Chronicles, a new series of historical fantasy adventures that's as much fun for grownups as it is for kids!Strange new talents...Jake is a scrappy orphaned pickpocket living by his wits on the streets of Victorian London. Lately he's started seeing ghosts, and discovers he can move solid objects with his mind! He has no idea why. Next thing he knows, a Sinister Gentleman and his minions come hunting him. On the run for his life, Jake is plunged headlong into a mysterious world full of magic and deadly peril. A world that holds the secret to who he really is: the long-lost heir of an aristocratic family-with magical powers!But with treacherous enemies closing in, it will take all of his wily street instincts and the help of his friends-both human and magical-to solve the mystery of what happened to his parents, and defeat the foes who never wanted the Lost Heir of Griffon to be found..."A wonderful novel in the same vein as Harry Potter, full of nonstop action, magical creatures, and the reality that was Queen Victoria's England." The Reading CafeOptioned For A Movie!The Complete Gryphon Chronicles Series: Book 1 - THE LOST HEIRBook 2 - JAKE & THE GIANTBook 3 - THE DARK PORTALBook 3.5 - JAKE & THE GINGERBREAD WARSBook 4 - RISE OF ALLIESBook 5 - SECRETS OF THE DEEPBook 6 - THE BLACK FORTRESS
The Archer's Son
M.E. Hubbs - 2014
The breast of the mail bore a ragged hole and the heavy links were sticky. It took a moment for Hedyn to realize it was soaked in drying blood.“A bascinet and hauberk?” he asked.“Aye, you shall need these before the night is done.” . . . Treachery, disease, hunger, and death plague their steps as King Henry’s men near their fateful battle with the French army at Agincourt. Eager to see the world that lies beyond his small Cornish village, 12 year ol Hedyn, son of an archer and serf, is thrilled to be chosen to join King Henry’s army as it advances on Normandy. His excitement quickly gives way to exhaustion in body and spirit, as well as worry for the safety of his newfound friends and comrades. Can a mysterious stranger with a secretive past offer Hedyn hope amidst the horrors of battle?
Lore and Order
Steve K. Peacock - 2014
The fire brigade have been doing their best, as have the other emergency services, but whoever is behind the fires has been systematically running them ragged. Whitehall is worried. Something doesn’t add up, so they’ve dispatched a warlock – a former illegal mage, pressed into service of the government to deal with matters of the arcane – to look things over. Jameson Parker is that warlock, and he’s pretty okay with that. His freedoms might be heavily restricted, and any unauthorised use of magic means he’ll be struck down dead instantly, but it could be worse. He gets more or less free rein to swan around Humberside like the big I am, and it gives him a way to atone for his less than stellar past. He’s better off without magic, and he knows it. But is magic better off without him? The warlocks of Humberside don’t seem to think so, and there are rumblings that, as well as the fires, something big is about to go down. Jameson is not best pleased.
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos
R.L. LaFevers - 2007
Sneaking behind her father's back, Theo uses old, nearly forgotten Egyptian magic to remove the curses and protect her father and the rest of the museum employees from the ancient, sinister forces lurking in the museum's dark hallways.When Theo's mother returns from her latest archaeological dig bearing the Heart of Egypt - a legendary amulet belonging to an ancient tomb - Theo learns that it comes inscribed with a curse so black and vile that it threatens to crumble the British Empire from within and start a war too terrible to imagine. Theo will have to call upon everything she's ever learned in order to prevent the rising chaos from destroying her country - and herself.
Wraith
Angel Lawson - 2012
Weird. Crazy. These are the names tossed around seventeen-year old Jane Watts by her fellow classmates. But things aren’t always as they seem. Sometimes there’s a reason for talking to yourself in the hallway at school.Adjusting to her new home and school after an abrupt move, Jane just wants to be like everyone else at school. Although she does manage to make one friend, Evan — sixteen, charming and protective. Evan is everything a girl could want in a best friend, with one minor caveat: He’s dead.Caught somewhere between life and death, Evan is tied to Jane and the living world, unable to complete the journey to the other side. She thinks he’s here to be her friend, to take care of her, and that’s why no one else can see or hear him.That is, until a new boy shows up at school after a rumored stretch in juvie. Connor can see Evan and is not convinced that the ghost is completely honest. Past experience taught him how ghosts tend to need something from the humans they connect to and Evan, despite his arguments, isn’t any different.Jane is resentful of Connor’s intrusion but soon realizes that her ghostly friend has secrets about his past. And now Evan's family, still reeling from his tragic death, is in danger. Jane must face her fears and battle Evan’s human demons to free both of them.
The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden
Emma Trevayne - 2015
A bad business.And for Thomas Marsden, on what was an unremarkable spring night in London, it becomes a very spooky business. For lying in an unmarked grave and half covered with dirt is a boy the spitting image of Thomas himself.This is only the first clue that something very strange is happening. Others follow, but it is a fortune teller’s frightened screams that lead Thomas into a strange world of spiritualists, death and faery folk.Faery folk with whom Thomas’s life is bizarrely linked. Faery folk who need his help.Desperate to unearth the truth about himself and where he comes from, Thomas is about to discover magic, and ritual, and that sometimes, just sometimes, the things that make a boy ordinary are what make him extraordinary.
Wraith
Edie Claire - 2011
Until she saw him... Sixteen-year-old Kali has always seen two sets of people: those living now, and those who lived before. But on her spring break in Hawaii, she is suddenly surrounded by more shadows than ever. Including one who, unlike the others, can see her too. Zane remembers nothing besides surfing the monster waves of Oahu's North Shore. He doesn't even know how, or when, he died. He only knows that Kali's "gift" could be his last chance to find the light--before the mysteries of his past plunge them both into darkness...
The Glass Demon
Helen Grant - 2010
The Glass Demon bridges the world of the traditional Grimm fairytale with the darker world of Angela Carter's adult fairytales. The first deathSeventeen-year-old Lin Fox finds a body in an orchard. As she backs away in horror, she steps on broken glass.The second deathThen blood appears on her doorstep - blood, and broken glass.The third deathSomething terrible is found in the cemetery. Shards of broken glass lie by a grave.Who will be next?As the attacks become more sinister, Lin doesn't know who to trust. She's getting closer to the truth behind these chilling discoveries, but with each move the danger deepens.Because someone wants Lin gone - and won't give up until he's got rid of her and her family. Forever.Helen Grant's first teen novel The Vanishing of Katharina Linden was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal; her other darkly thrilling young adult novels, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden and Wish Me Dead, are also available from Penguin.
The Cabinet of Earths
Anne Nesbet - 2012
Not speaking French at a school full of snobby French girls is bad enough, but Maya believes there is something sinister going on in her new city. A purple-eyed man follows Maya and her younger brother, James. Statues seem to have Maya’s face. And an eerie cabinet filled with mysterious colored bottles calls to her. When James becomes the target of dark forces, Maya decides she must answer the call of the Cabinet of Earths, despite the danger.
Gravity
Abigail Boyd - 2011
One night in the town of Hell, Ariel's best friend goes missing. Those around her believe Jenna ran away, but when Ariel is tormented by nightmares and paranormal activity, she realizes Jenna's disappearance was part of a bigger mystery. Ariel's obsession with haunted houses and horror movies makes her the perfect detective. But to complicate matters, a handsome newcomer named Henry Rhodes plagues her with unwanted attention. Though he doesn't believe in the supernatural events, she enlists his help and that of quirky nerd Theo. What is making the lights at school flicker? And why did Ariel dream of the old abandoned Dexter orphanage? When Ariel finally discovers the truth, it's much worse than she ever feared.
Venom
Fiona Paul - 2012
Yet ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape.When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin... and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco?Beauty, love, romance, and mystery weave together in a stunning novel that’s as seductive and surprising as the city of Venice itself.
The Ghosts of Varner Creek
Michael Weems - 2007
Left with his alcoholic and abusive father, Sol lived his life believing the story he'd been told, the story all the people of Varner Creek believed about what happened that summer. But in a plot of twists and family secrets that will leave the reader reaching for their jaw upon the floor, Sol is taken back to his childhood by the spirits he knew in life when he passes away so many years later . . . it is only then he learns what secrets The Ghosts of Varner Creek have been keeping so many years. "Very well written . . . this debut novel is a real page turner with some very interesting characters."-Jani Brooks, Romance Review Today This was a wonderfully woven story about an American family, their secrets, tragedies, love lost and redeemed. - Goodreads 5 Star Review from Robert Stadnik, author of Exodus Of The Phoenix, Phoenix Among The Stars, and Tales Of A Former Child Superhero. Terrific book! This story was haunting and chilled me to the core. I couldn't read fast enough to find out what happened to the characters. I was definitely hooked from the very beginning. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a great mystery. - Nook 5 Star Review Never anything but page-turning . . . I was hooked on this book right from the start. - Dr. Jon P. Bloch, Professor, Author, and Reviewer for The Kindle Book Review, blog website.
Lilith: A Ghosts in the Burbs Story
Liz Sower - 2019
And that something is stalking their daughter. Originally released several chapters at a time on the podcast Ghosts in the Burbs, Lilith is a tale of demonic possession, motherhood, and isolation.
13 Days of Midnight
Leo Hunt - 2015
Unfortunately, Luke has no clue how to manage them, which the ghosts figure out pretty quickly. Armed with only his father’s indecipherable notes and a locked copy of The Book of Eight, Luke struggles to adapt to his new role as a necromancer. Meanwhile, the increasingly belligerent Host mutinies, possesses Luke’s mother, and forces him out of his own house.Halloween, the night when ghosts reach the height of their power, is fast approaching, and Luke knows his Host is planning something far more trick than treat. With the help of school outcast Elza Moss, who knows a bit about ghosts herself, Luke has just thirteen days to uncover the closely guarded secrets of black magic and send his unquiet spirits to their eternal rest.And if you thought it was going to be easy, you’d be dead wrong.