Deadly Game of Magic

by Joan Lowery Nixon

Lisa and her three friends find themselves unwilling players in a cat-and-mouse game with a murderous magician whose identity and motivation baffle them.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Horror, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Magic

Hardcover

First published November 1, 1985

About the author

Author of more than one hundred books, Joan Lowery Nixon is the only writer to have won four Edgar Allan Poe Awards for Juvenile Mysteries (and been nominated several other times) from the Mystery Writers of America. Creating contemporary teenage characters who have both a personal problem and a mystery to solve, Nixon captured the attention of legions of teenage readers since the publication of her first YA novel more than twenty years ago. In addition to mystery/suspense novels, she wrote nonfiction and fiction for children and middle graders, as well as several short stories. Nixon was the first person to write novels for teens about the orphan trains of the nineteenth century. She followed those with historical novels about Ellis Island and, more recently for younger readers, Colonial Williamsburg. Joan Lowery Nixon died on June 28, 2003—a great loss for all of us.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bland but unobjectionable mild suspense story about four teens who stop to call AAA and end up trapped by a flood in a house with a psycho stage magician. Nothing graphic or too scary.

Recommended for kids who want to convince their parents to let them have cell phones.

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

LOL yep just trying to meet my reading challenge. Sadly, not as scary or clever as I remembered this being...

[bookreader_nix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was actually surprised at how much I liked this book. When I picked it up, it looked like a book a kid in 5th grade would read, but I figured, the story line sounds interesting, so why not try it out, right? I got bored after the first 20 pages, but, as my OCD kicks in, I told myself I needed to finish the book because I had already started it. So i continued reading and the mystery started and the clues began to appear and I wanted to know what, or who, was in that house, tormenting Lisa, Bo, Julian, and Teena. It would've drove me crazy if I hadn't found out. I did find it annoying how slow the clues came along and how weird it was that the teenagers didn't want to stay outside. That would have been my first reaction "I am NOT staying in some strangers house... and the people who invited me to stay inside, it wasn't even their house!" Really? That's just weird and it's not right. But I did like the fact that Chamberlain used magic to give his clues. That was brilliant. I also liked the fact that the author brushed on the teenager's lives and how they are connected with how their parents want a certain career for them even though that's not what they want. I thought that was a little interesting. Over all, it was a great book, a quik read, which I always like, and I definitely recommend. Warning though, there are grammar/spelling issues that come along with it, so... BEWARE. (That was the one thing that bothered me about this book, and that says something).

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teenager in the nineties, I borrowed A Deadly Game of Magic from the bookmobile that visited my town once a month. All these years later, this story still holds my attention and intrigue as it transports me to another place. An extremely creepy setting/atmosphere filled with the unexpected, a pitch-perfect mystery.

Related Work: The Magician's Assistant

Favorite Passages:
Bo snorted and stuck out his chin. "Scared of what?"
"Scared of where we are and what's going to happen to us," I said. "Don't tell me you're not afraid."
"Being afraid is a waste of energy."
______

My leges were wobbly. My mind seemed to tremble as much as my body, but one thought came through clearly. "Whatever Sam saw," I said, "is still in this house. And like it or not, we're trapped in here with it."
_______

I gasped, staring into the room. It was not a large room, but the walls were a flat, dull black and, in the dim light, seemed to stretch out into the night. It was like being swallowed by a huge, black mouth.
______

"You think all old ladies are nice? You need to meet some mean old lady like the one who lives on our street to find out what life's really all about."
______

I closed my eyes and tried to relax and get the feeling of the house and the person in it. Again the strange sensation crept through me that there was someone back in that room, another mind trying to shield its thoughts from me, to hide in a shadowy world I couldn't reach.
______

"How did Abraham Lincoln study by candlelight without ruining his eyes?" Teena asked.
Bo yawned. "I give up, How?"
"What do you mean, 'how'? I don't have an answer."
"I thought you were telling a joke."
______

I whirled and saw a cluttered array consisting of a low vase of pussy-willow stems, a china cup and plate, some small pewter statuettes, and a wooden music box. Tucked among them, lying on the mantel, was a hand - a white, disembodied hand that vibrated in rhythm - tap-tapping, tapping.
______

We whirled to face a glowing ball that trailed gauzy wisps. This small spirit hovered in the blackness, dipping and trembling, then slowly moved toward us.
______

"I don't know," I said. "It's just a feeling."
"Your feelings are creepy," Teena said, but Julian handed me his candle, crossed the room, and managed to juggle the four cases.
"Thanks," I said.
_______

"Well," she said, "that deer was a beautiful animal in the forest before you killed it."
"Is that how you count what get eaten or not - how beautiful it is? That why you can sit there and gobble up those salami sandwiches? Because the pig wasn't beautiful?"
_______

"Show us how you do that," Teena said.
"Nope," I said. "Magicians are very careful to keep their tricks secret. If everyone knew how to do them, it would be the end of the game."
"A game?" Julian asked. "But some people do it for a living."
"They're lucky," I told him.
"Is that how all magicians feel about what they do - that it's a game?" Teena asked.
"I'm not making light of it," I told them. "Performing magic can be extremely dangerous. Did you ever hear of Houdini? He did all sorts of tricks that could have killed him if he hadn't been expert in what he was doing."
"Could magicians ever kill anyone else?" Teena aske. "Like an assistant - someone who's helping them?"
I thought a moment. "Maybe."
_______

"That's the way it is with me. You wouldn't understand that, because you hold it all in and try to be Miss Sweetness while you're doing something you don't want to do. I operate a different way."
_______

I had a weird feeling of someone's mind reaching out to mine. It's the way you feel when you're reading in the library, begin to feel uncomfortable, and finally look up, and someone's watching you.
_______

We moved together so closely it made me want to giggle in spite of my fear. Maybe it was because of my fear. I felt like Coke inside a bottle that had been shaken, with giant bubbles of laughter and shrieks and yells shooting up to the top, ready to explode if the cap came off.
_______

We were silent again. I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes. Maybe the others felt as I did - almost too tired to be frightened. Or maybe fear wove itself into a smothering blanket, blotting out emotions until there was nothing left but a hollow, blank mind.
_______

"I'm saying that we're all illusionists. We're pretending our lives. We're saying, 'Look right here, ladies and gentlemen, at this good young person doing just what my mother and father and brothers and sisters want me to do, being what they want me to be. I'm going to be fill-in-the-blank and make everyone proud of me and live happily ever after.' Only it's not for real.

[Nader Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A suspense novel with a dark and scary atmosphere,The characters are well written and the way they interact with each other and their sense of fear was the best thing about this book
The plot was average for me, and there was a feeling of boredom in some chapters, and the ending also left me with important questions, the most important of which is why, until the end, we did not discuss what is in the last room. The book was good and intriguing but wasn't as good as the other books i read for nixon.

(VERDICT: 7.2/10)

[Erica Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Underwhelming. An unseen antagonist uses magic tricks—excuse me, ILLUSIONS—to quietly terrorize a group of teens dressed like mimes. Lots of potential scares/red herrings were left unaddressed and I still have soooo many questions.

[Pamela Chelekis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! The premise is pretty simple, four kids are stranded at a spooky house and someone is playing games with them. There's a thematic element of magic thrown in. And really - that's all you need.

Some of the Nixon tropes are there -- it's middle of nowhere Texas. All of the kids are obsessed with what they're going to do post High School. And girl realizes her feelings for a guy half way through is there. But the heavy Christian themes are not. It also doesn't have that same period atmosphere as the other books. And really, with a few tweaks, could totally be a modern novel. (I mean - Johnny Carson is playing on the TV when they arrive at the house.)

It's not the most revolutionary concept - but the house, the idea that someone is there with them, and the mystery behind what happened to the old lady who owns the house (old lady alert!) is captivating enough that it sustains the novel.

The kids, as characters, are decently drawn, if not standard stock teenagers. Lisa, our MC and the most interesting one, wants to be a magician. Then we have Tina, a black girl (!!), who wants to get into law; Bo, a jock who wants to be more than just a football player; and Julian, Lisa's love interest, a guy who would rather be a dancer than be a doctor. There's a whole theme of illusion - heavily handed as the kids realize that who their parents and society want them to be are different than who they are themselves. It's not the most in depth character work ever drawn, but it works for what is essentially an upper middle grade read. Plus - the interaction between the kids - who start off the book as adversaries due to their difference, and learn to appreciate each other by the end, is really quite nice.

I think what really works for the book, though is the suspense and mystery. And I'm reminded why I wanted to read these books in the first place. The kids are spooked by something following them around the house. Lights go off. Mysterious dogs show up. And there's a whole backstory about a woman running from her abusive, magician husband. And a haunting back room that none of them want to go into. The whole story takes place during one night, and while the ending is a little on the silly side, it at least closes up all the loose threads in satisfactory way.

Out of all the ones I've read so far - this one I'd actually recommend (as long as you keep in mind, it is from 1983, and is meant to be for 13yos.)

Rating: 3.75 stars

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tbh this book was worth reading just for the laughs I got out of it. I have tears running down my face after that scene where they’re all sitting clapping for an invisible maniac who’s just murdered his wife. Oh dear.

Just... everything about this was hilarious. Lisa conveniently wanting to be a magician. The random dog that was never explained. The mime costumes. The way the kids kept shifting from room to room and arguing about which room to go to and never ever going to the exciting room to just find out what was happening once and for all. The woman who comes by, finds random strangers in her friend’s house and just leaves them to it. The magic-off! I just found it so ridiculously funny.

And honestly, if I’d read this as a child I’d definitely have been creeped out! The last part was a little bit creepy! And there were moments of them being in an isolated house and the phones cutting out and creepy invisible magic tricks that made me think oooh this book might go somewhere!

But then there’s so much discussion about the rooms and pointless arguments that are resolved in seconds and weird bits where Lisa knew everything about everyone because they were all too thick to psychoanalyse themselves. And Teena constantly saying nothing is a good idea, oh my god.

But trust me, it’s worth it for the clapping scene. I’d encourage people to read it purely for that. It gave me a right giggle.

[Cassidy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda like Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Gang. A great book for something incredibly fast to read and pallet cleanse when reading other less fun things. (took MAYBE 3 hours to read). Would def recommend but I wish it was a little bit longer. It didn’t feel as tied up with a bow as I would have liked.

[Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so good, i was on edge through out all of it and the ending was so creepy!

[Tam · Rating 2 out of 5]

overall, it's an underwhelming story about three teenagers driving home during a storm who eventually become stranded due to car trouble. I was bored halfway through the book, but I wanted to give it a chance since it was such a short story.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bo, Teena, Julian, and Lisa are four teens who would never be together if it weren't for a project for school. Things only get worse for them when Bo's car breaks down and they are forced to pull into an old home to use a phone for help. They soon find that they are alone in the house waiting for the auto club, but a storm outside may delay their rescue. Soon odd things start happening in the house, things that are making the four teens realize they need to help each other and stick together to make it to the rescue from the auto club. Lisa discovers things in the house that shouldn't be scary, but are just down right terrifying when the setting is so dark and dreary. All the teens want is to go home, preferably soon and even more preferably alive. Someone seems to be in this spooky house, but they never really show themselves. Who is in the house and do they mean the teens harm? What about the little old lady that owns this house? Is she really stuck in town because of the weather or did she come home and come to some harm by the mysterious someone in her home? Is the someone in the home a hitchhiker or are they someone more mysterious than that....more other worldly?

This book had me from the first word on the first page all the way to the last word on the last page. I was absolutely sucked into this book and story. This author absolutely nailed the bullseye in the writing and flow of this book! I was so into this book by the wonderful descriptions given that I found myself jumpy as I read because of how focused I was on what was going on in the book. A noise would happen in my own home as I was reading and I jumped thinking I was in the story. The characters were so realistic and fun and so well developed that I felt they were real people that I knew of. They all were so different, yet all so much alike. I loved the bonds they started to form as the book progressed. This was a bit different than most mystery books I've read, but in a great way. It wasn't this .... so and so was murdered and now we must find who done it.... it was a what is happening here and what is really going on in this house and with these teens mystery. I loved every minute of it! Nice change of pace in my reading. The ending was a bit of a disappointment to me, as it left some things unanswered, but all in all my love of the rest of the book outweighed the way things ended.

If you like mysteries with a twist, this is the book for you. This is a great book for young adults and adults and is a great easy breezy read. I highly recommend this book!!!


5/5 Stars!!!!

[Leanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason I read A Deadly Game of Magic by Joan Lowery Nixon is because it was free. Granted, most of the books I read are free—from the library. But I was actually able to take this book on an overseas flight.

I read other Joan Lowery Nixon books as a teenager—and I enjoyed them. Either I had no taste in books at the time or Deadly Game is just a stinker. (Since Lowery Nixon is an Edgar Award winner, I hope it’s the latter.)

In the book, four high school students are trapped in a rainstorm. Although the plot—about a demented magician—is unbelievable, the real problem with the book is the dialogue.

The teenagers simply do not sound like teenagers. Teena, in particular, spouts platitudes and clichés like a middle-aged woman: “You got guilt all over your face like jam” and “Looking at you is like staring at a window with the shade pulled down” are my favorites. I have never heard anyone talk this way—especially not a teenager.

The book’s romantic” scenes are equally as uncomfortable. Lisa, the narrator, describes her crush, saying, “I watched him leave the room, his long, slender body moving easily, and I wanted to follow him, to touch him.” Is this really how teenage girls think?

Deadly Game is a fast and harmless read. But with so many other books out there, it is also a waste of time.

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

On their way back from a competition four teens find themselves stranded at a stranger's house due to car trouble. The man who let them in to call a mechanic tells them to lock up when they leave as he and his wife are headed out to a party. You immediately get the feeling that something is not quite right here. From this point on things really start getting suspenseful. You wonder, are they alone in the house? this was a great read. However, due to a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book, I only gave this book a rating of 4 out of 5.

[CAroLiNe · Rating 5 out of 5]

so this book is about 4 friends who is driving around n then there car gets messed up cause of the rain so they see this house near by n stop by to use the phone n then they found out that the people that were there didnt liv in that house soo then the lights go off and thats wen the magic begins.....

[Hannah Montana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. Yes,it's scary,but just amazing. It leaves you wanting more.

[Courtney Gruenholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up to 3 stars from 2.5 on GR.

The reason it took me so long to read this one is because I was dealing with an inconvenient bout of food poisoning. I would say stomach flu or virus but neither my husband nor my child was knocked down, so I doubt it was that.

That aside...this one was a very slow burn. Imagine lighting a really large firework expecting it to be a blazing display and getting...nothing. The saving grace to keep me from completely being bored with A Deadly Game of Magic was the lead up to the very last line in the book.

Four teenagers are coming back from a dramatic performance in Dallas to their smaller Texas town.

Being written in the early 1980s, two of the teens are boys and the other two are girls. Bo is meant to be the All-American manly man who plays football and goes hunting with his dad, he is only taking drama to beef up his college applications.

Bo wasn't expecting to do mime.

The other guy named Julian wants to have a career in dancing but the men in his family have been doctors going to medical school. Julian is quiet for a part of the book, but we learn that he is very much straight as he likes one of the girls, Lisa.

Lisa has two older siblings who were high achievers in high school, so her parents put pressure on her to get good grades and do well in everything. When she was younger, Lisa wanted to be a magician, so she has no problem in performing but the not winning a competition and having to tell her parents is the more stressful part.

Teena has plans to be on the supreme court and is a very opinionated African American teenager who is not very impressed by living in this small town. She is probably the most annoying character always going around and either complaining or screaming.

The nightly drive back is hampered by a downpour of rain and flooding the roads when Bo's car ends up dying near the only house for miles on a stretch of road. The teens go up to the house to call Triple A and are let in by a couple who give them permission to wait in the house while they are going to a party. After they leave, Lisa and the others soon figure out that this...was not their house.

While waiting for assistance, an older woman knocks on the door and confirms that the house belongs to an older woman named Gracie Ella Porter, her neighbor that she came to check on because of the storm. Her late husband was a magician who died in a fire, and she moved here to start work as a medium but kept most of the magician's items from his act.

The neighbor lady leaves and soon, the inevitable happens.

After calling for Triple A and only getting through to Lisa's parents, the phone line becomes dead.

Just when you think it becomes a cliche, the tow truck comes to get the car hooked up and the driver offers to take the girls with him. Lisa suggests they all stay together as they heard another noise before he arrived and goes into the explanation that makes Sam, the driver, feel as if he is being pranked.

Sam offers to check the last room at the end of the darkened hallway and what he finds causes him to faint from terror. The teens go to get him some water and a wet towel but return to find that he has booked it and left the door open, the tow truck gone. That is when the lights are knocked out by the storm and they are left in darkness, scrambling for light from candles and matches.

That's when other noises become even sharper to their ears and the four teens find that they are not in the house alone. Given what they know, Lisa begins to wonder if it is a person they are dealing with or something far more sinister.

The only other thing I found to be enjoyable was that we get a dog scare instead of a cat scare when a big lost black Lab paws at the door to get inside from the rain. It immediately takes a shine to Bo, and we find out he is a dog person...aww. It adds a little depth to his character and makes him seem like less of a redneck jerk jock.

There are some suspenseful moments but mostly a lot of Teena getting on my nerves and the group making sandwiches in the kitchen that made me at times hungry and nauseous. All of this to lead up to the last act doesn't really paint a brilliant review but if your curiosity is getting the better of you, it may be worth checking out.

[Blayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Deadly Game of magic, by Joan Lowery Nixon reading Lexile, is 670L
The main characters Bo, Julien, teena, and Lisa ( main characters )are going home from losing a competition in a big city to their little town ( so it’s far away and a long drive ) but when they were going home it started to rain terribly. And it got worse and so bad that it flooded up halfway to the side of the vehicle. They had to stop at a house on a hill to get away from the rain so it wouldn’t hydroplane their car. So they go up to the house and they can hear the television all the way outside they’re greeted by a man inviting them and leaving them in the house when they are not there. Things get worse every second they are there until the lights went out they discovered, even more, a dog came and helped with the dark. In the end, it was a very scary magician versus magician showdown and a sheriff took them home after he found out from the scared silly towtrucker
The mood is very tense ominous and thrilling in the story. For example, it opens as a very dark (scary ) rainy(pg. 1) (gloomy, mad, and sad ) but if the author would to make it day time then it wouldn’t be scary it would be gloomy. And if it weren’t to be raining they wouldn’t have to stop at a house and there wouldn’t be a story to tell . if bo was smart ( pg. 89) then he wouldn’t have to be the main character
I like this book it was very interesting and it can keep your mind on this story I recommend this book the reasoning is because it can really put a visualized movie in your mind. It really describing I got confused one time only because I missed a word. If you’re at this Lexile then it’s a great book to read. Some things to say great ending, my favorite part was when the dog was missing and he was in the car but they thought bo was in the trunk and he wasn’t !! My biggest connection with the book with real-life was that it is scary to go into a different hose for the first time but keep your guard up it could get bad….

[Kennedy Ritzenthaler]

Deadly Game of Magic
By: Joan Lowery Nixon
I feel like the main theme of this book is to never give up and that friendship is important because the characters are always trying to back each other up and not give up on the situation they're in due to their survival. The genre I would say is murder/thriller and it resembles the characters in a way as well. I think this book is a pretty good book, it talks about the situation the characters are in and their emotions as well. reading this book it helps you understand how the main characters Bo, LIsa< Julian, and Teena feel and what they are going through. The author does a good job explaining the details of the house they are trapped in and the character's hobbies etc. I would say the main idea of this book is the kid's experience trying to survive this magical yet terrifying experience. My thesis on the book was that all stay alive and get to go home at the end. Overall this is a good book and recommended for kids ages 12-15 years old.

[Cassandra Plunkett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book forever ago when I was a kid. I have no idea why, but the other day I had a vivid memory of a scene out of this book and went searching for the title of it. I’m glad I found it! I had to re-read it because I couldn’t get it out of my head.

Read it in one sitting. It’s middle-grade so it’s obviously written in a juvenile fashion but I already knew that going into it.

This is a fun, fast, creepy little read and I’m glad I read this again! It’s crazy how much of the visuals and atmosphere I was remembering as I went along. It’s obvious where the story is going as an adult, but I remember being so creeped out and floored by the revelation at the end when I was a kid 😂

I’ve been in a major reading slump so being able to finish a book in one shot after not finishing anything for weeks feels great! Just the pick me up I needed.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joan Lowery Nixon

BIO

Joan Lowery Nixon is the only four-time winner of the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award and a two-time winner of the California Young Reader Medal.

Whether it's engrossing historical dramas, chilling mysteries, suspense-filled page-turners, or adventure stories, kids, teachers, and librarians love the books of Joan Lowery Nixon.

Nixon is half Californian, half Texan. She has a degree in journalism and credentials in elementary education. Nixon has written over 130 books for children from preschool age through young adult—including science books, co-authored with her husband, geologist Hershell Nixon. Her books have garnered numerous awards and accolades, including the Western Writers of America Golden Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile and the Texas Institute of Letters Award. Many of Nixon's books have won state children's choice awards. She is the only four-time winner of the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Mystery. Nixon has four children and several grandchildren.

Nixon describes the pleasure she gets from writing mystery and suspense: "When I was young I discovered an evening radio program called I LOVE A MYSTERY. It was intriguing, suspenseful, and at times absolutely terrifying, and the title was correct. I did love a mystery—on radio, in films, and especially in books. Maybe I'm really a detective at heart because much later in my life, when I began to write books for young people, I discovered writing mysteries was even more fun than reading them.

"A mystery begins to develop in my mind when something sparks an idea and a question grows from it. What would it be like to move into a house in which a murder had taken place? How would I feel if my best friend were arrested for murder on circumstantial evidence? As a question develops into an answer, I give a great deal of thought to my main character. She is the most important part of the story, and I see it take shape through her eyes. Before I write a word of the story I know how I'll begin it and how I'll end it, making sure to put in honest clues and distracting red herrings—just to make the mystery all the more fun to solve. I love mysteries, and I want my readers to love them, too."

In creating the acclaimed Orphan Train Adventures, Nixon explored a time and place in America's recent past that is not widely covered in history lessons. She explains, "It was a part of history I hadn't known: that beginning in 1854, over 100,000 homeless children were rescued from the streets of New York City and sent by train to new homes in the West. As I researched early journals, I found many letters—some hopeful, some sad—and reports which told of tears as brothers and sisters were separated or a child was not chosen. I wanted to bring history and fiction together in an exciting, adventurous time and place, to tell the stories of those who could have traveled west on the Orphan Train."

Many of Nixon's readers have written to her asking how to get published. Her novel THE MAKING OF A WRITER, a part memoir, part how-to book, is her answer to them. From her first publication at age 10—a poem titled "Springtime"—to her graduation from Hollywood High during World War II, Nixon shares the incidents from her childhood that helped her to develop as a writer.

PRESS RELEASE

New York (July 8, 2003) — Joan Lowery Nixon, a critically acclaimed author of books for young people, died Saturday, June 28, 2003 in Houston, Texas at the age of 76. Mrs. Nixon held a Journalism degree from the University of Southern California and also had credentials in elementary education. She specialized in writing mysteries for young adults, and was awarded The Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allen Poe Award for 4 of her mysteries. Mrs. Nixon is the only person to ever win 4 Edgar Awards.

A past president of The Mystery Writers of America, Mrs. Nixon developed "Kids Love a Mystery Week". She also initiated a writing badge for the Girls Scouts of America and was an active member of Western Writers of America. Her Orphan Train book series (Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers) earned two Golden Spur awards from that organization. The author of over 140 books, Mrs. Nixon was published in more than 20 languages, and 15 of her books have won state children’s choice awards.

Mrs. Nixon described herself as half Californian, half Texan. She was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Hollywood, and spent the remainder of her life in Houston. Mrs. Nixon once described the pleasure she got from writing mystery and suspense: "When I was young I discovered an evening radio program called I Love a Mystery. It was intriguing, suspenseful, and at times absolutely terrifying, and the title was correct. I did love a mystery—on radio, in films, and especially in books. Maybe I’m really a detective at heart because much later in my life, when I began to write books for young people, I discovered writing mysteries was even more fun than reading them."

Many of Mrs. Nixon’s readers wrote to her asking how to get published. Her book THE MAKING OF A WRITER (Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, May 2002), a part memoir, part how-to book, was her answer to them. From her first publication at age 16—a poem entitled "Springtime"—to her graduation from Hollywood High during World War II, Nixon shared the events and experiences from her childhood that helped her to develop as a writer. Whether referring to her engrossing historical dramas, chilling mysteries, suspense-filled page-turners, or adventure stories, one fact will remain consistently true: kids, teachers, and librarians love Joan Lowery Nixon’s books.

© Copyright 2003, Teenreads.com. All rights reserved.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up way back in 2011 from the bookstore Borders when it was still around and way before I was using Goodreads..

I’ve read this book once before and loved it..

After reading it a second time, I still loved it and would probably read it again. I didn’t like how it ended though, like there was suppose to be a second book to this...

I loved the whole magician part, and when Lisa stepped in towards the end of the book as a magician, showing off to The Chamberlain, fulfilling her childhood dream all the while talking with her friends on what they wanted to do with their life’s and what their parents wanted for them..

[Xander · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is about magic and where these few kids get trapped ina house because it was a cold rainy night and how they could get out because they got held in by a old man and wife they left the house giving them no way to leave there car broke down and they where waiting for a mechanic to come save them the house is a old magicians house and through. out the book they had to find many ways too survive. in all there was some person in the house with them. the thing i liked most about the book is that the kids had so many diffrent feelings and problems they solved together. there was really not anything i dislikes about the book. in all i love this book u should read it!

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as a kid, forget how old I was. Absolutely terrified me at the time, so much so I remember it now even ~30 years later while having forgotten both title and author. Just now spent a long time googling just to find it. Found the other reviews amusing. Shallow characters, cliche plot.... sure that’s probably all spot on, but as a fairly innocent young kid I didn’t notice any of it, all I remember is the atmosphere and the suspense and the sheer terror of that room at the end of the hallway. Holy crap was I scared. Not sure if this constitutes a positive or negative review!

[Brian Aguilera · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good book. i liked how you dont expect what was going to happen and who the antagonist was. i really thought it would be something supernatural.

i thought this wouldve been a good play since it’s completely set up in one place.

i’m not a fan of their banter, how they always talk about how different they are from each other yet theyre all still the same. it’s giving the breakfast club which is so annoying.

[Jewell Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice mystery. 4 teens on the way back from a drama/debate conference run into trouble during a storm. They wind up stranded in an old mansion, full of magicians props and tools. Worse they are not alone. I read this over the days of Hurrican Harvey, so the storm was relevant and added to the story, since it's set in Texas as well. Love old 80's teen novels.

[Jennifer Kohlstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was all right. It's been on my TBR for ages and I finally decided to read it. Honestly, some things didn't make sense and didn't add up and I'm still left with questions that got no answers... But I suppose that's one of the points of this kind of book, isn't it? Either way, it's a quick read and it did have some good stuff in it.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a book that keeps you wanting more, this book does its job. The setup for the story is neat and its nice that the horror is spaced out so that the characters can interact. The characters also interact through the horror, creating an enjoyable dynamic.

[Melanie Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this when I was young (sigh). I remember it scaring the crap out of me, and it was the first time a book had ever done that! I am tempted to read it again...now that I'm grown and supposedly braver.

[Shauna Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

More nostalgia reading, though this is another book I hadn't read from an author I had. This was adorable and actually a fun page turner, even if perhaps the mystery is no more mysterious than a Scooby-Doo episode.