Winner of the Bram Stoker Award Evie once again leaves her world behind to rescue Blight Harbor’s ghosts in this “deliciously dark and gripping” ( Kirkus Reviews ) second book in the middle grade Blight Harbor trilogy that’s reminiscent of Doll Bones and Small Spaces . Evie Von Rathe has been home for only a few weeks from her adventure in the strange world of seven houses when Blight Harbor’s beloved ghosts begin to disappear. Did they leave without saying goodbye, or has something gone horribly wrong? Soon Evie is invited to a mysterious council meeting, where she learns about the Dark Sun Side and a terrible secret. Yes, the ghosts have gone missing. And that means serious trouble. With the help of an eleven-year-old (or 111-year-old, but who’s counting) ghost named Lark, trusty Bird, and a plump ghost spider, Evie must find a way to defeat the vicious Nighthouse Keeper responsible for the missing ghosts, save her otherworldly friends, and find her way home from the Dark Sun Side before she’s trapped there forever. *"Nuanced character development is a strength across both first two books of the trilogy. Readers will undoubtedly eagerly await the final volume, even if it will mean saying goodbye to a fascinating and memorable world, and a brilliant protagonist in the heroic Evie, who is so much more than she initially dreams she can be." -- BCCB, Starred Review ― October 2023 “Senf’s nightmarish, well-imagined supernatural landscape is original and compelling. . . . More than just a battle between good and supernatural evil, this story shows the ultimate power of empathy and tenacity. Readers will be left both satisfied by the ending and wanting more. . . . Deliciously dark and gripping.” -- Kirkus Reviews ― 9/1/23 Lora Senf is a writer of dark and twisty stories for all ages. She is the author of The Clackity , Bram Stoker Award winner The Nighthouse Keeper , The Loneliest Place , and Pennies . She credits her love of words to her parents and to the public library that was walking distance from her childhood home. Lora finds inspiration for her writing in her children’s retellings of their dreams, on road trips through Montana, and most recently while reminiscing about summer days spent on her bike. She lives in eastern Washington with her husband, their twins, and two remarkably lazy cats. Visit her at LoraSenf.com. Chapter 1 1 “I’m sorry, Evie. She’s gone.” Mr. Seong’s words and the sadness in his kind eyes made my heart drop like a rock right into my stomach. “Gone where?” I asked, but I was afraid I already knew. Florence—the ghost that lived in my best friend, Maggie’s, house—had moved on. To where, I wasn’t sure, but it had happened. It was supposed to happen. Ghosts weren’t meant to stay forever. Eventually, they all left. “Off to wherever they go, I suppose.” Mr. Seong looked deflated. He stood in the doorway, with only an empty and quiet house behind him. I’d been concerned about Florence being lonely while Maggie and her mom were away for the summer, but I’d never once considered that Maggie’s poor dad might have been lonely too. “When?” I’d planned to stop by and visit Florence every few days while my friend was on her trip. And I did. At first. But since my “adventure” with The Clackity and Pope in the strange neighborhood with the purple sky, I hadn’t really gone out much (Des was keeping me pretty close). So, after weeks of meaning to, I’d finally gotten around to visiting Florence, only to discover that I was too late. As sad as I was, I was even more surprised that Florence hadn’t waited for Maggie before she left for good. Maggie had always been the ghost’s favorite, and the idea that Florence would go without saying goodbye felt wrong. “I wish I knew. Last night, maybe? Early this morning?” He ran a hand through his dark hair and stared down at his slippered feet. “She didn’t even say goodbye to you ? What did her note say?” Blight Harbor’s house ghosts generally found a way to communicate with the people they lived with. They couldn’t talk (at least, not in a way that most people could hear), but they could type, or write, or draw pictures. Florence usually used the big chalkboard in the Seongs’ kitchen if she wanted to say something. When Mr. Seong looked back up at me, there were tears in his eyes. “No note. Nothing. Do me a favor and don’t tell Maggie, okay? It’ll ruin her trip, and there’s nothing to be done about it, anyway.” Now there were tears in my eyes too. Florence had been part of the Seong family since before Maggie was even born. I’d been friends with Maggie for so long that the ghost had been like family to me, too. She’d been there for birthdays and holidays and even those hard days when you’d just needed someone to listen. Ghosts were generally good listeners—better than people, for sure—and sometimes I had a lot that I needed to say. “I don’t understand how she could just leave like that.” “I know, Evie.” Mr. Seong c