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Mystery on October Road
When a mysterious masked man moves into the house next door, ten-year-old Casey and her friends, Cats and Benny, are determined to find out more about him
57 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 4, 2024
Judging by Scott Gladden's evocative cover illustration of a girl fleeing a spooky house with a jack-o-lantern in her hands, a large dog looking forlornly out the window, I expected Mystery on October Road to be a tense, high-stakes sort of juvenile mystery. Instead, it's more the kind of book Ann M. Martin or Pamela Curtis Swallow would write, a simple, realistic story that reveals surprising truth about the complexity of human beings. Ten-year-old Catherine Cooper (known as Casey) and her friend Catherine Cooney (called Cats) are intrigued by the man who moves in next-door to Casey's house. He owns two dogs that are so huge Casey and Cats hardly believe they're dogs, and he always wears a bandanna over his face. Why does he want to conceal his mouth and nose? The man rarely sets foot outside, but late at night Casey sees light emanating from his basement. She almost feels sad for him, living alone with his monstrous dogs, but her fear is stronger than her sympathy, and Cats feels the same way. Could the new neighbor be some kind of criminal?
Casey and Cats want an excuse to go to the man's house and look around, and that excuse comes in the form of homemade bread baked by Casey's mother for the new neighbor. The offering doesn't get them inside his house, though, and the man's gruff attitude reinforces their suspicion that he's hiding something. Cats asks Benny Dilmers, a boy from school, to run surveillance and find out if the neighbor is conducting illegal business in his basement. Casey would rather hang out just with Cats, but Benny owns a quality set of binoculars that will enable them to spy from a safe distance. After more observation yields nothing new, Benny decides it's time to sneak into the neighbor's basement and see what's down there. Casey has a bad feeling about this.
The basement turns out not to be a chamber of horrors when Casey, Cats, and Benny slip in through an open window. The man—John Smith, according to a nameplate on a box—has little in the basement besides a woodworking project and tools to carve wood into intricate designs. The three kids panic when Mr. Smith's van pulls up outside. Cats and Benny squeeze back through the window and out of sight, but Casey falls and hurts her ankle. She watches in terror as Mr. Smith enters the basement with his dogs, angry at having his home invaded. Casey wanted the truth about him, but not under these circumstances. As it turns out, Mr. Smith is a normal man with a tragic story, not a crazy criminal that Casey or her friends should fear. He has good reason not to show his face in public, and a bit of mutual understanding and compassion might help him and Casey become amicable neighbors, if not quite friends. But can Mr. Smith forgive her for breaking into his home? The man has a talent that makes him unique, and he just might put it to use on Halloween night in a gesture that shows he has no hard feelings toward Casey. Mr. Smith is going to be an interesting neighbor.
Alison Cragin Herzig and Jane Lawrence Mali teamed up for numerous books, including Oh, Boy! Babies!, which won the 1981 National Book Award for children's nonfiction. Mystery on October Road doesn't feel like the work of an award-winning duo, but its main strength is uncompromising realism. As with most actual childhood adventures, it's brief—only fifty-seven pages—and there's no neat happy ending with everything solved. That lends the narrative an authenticity I value. If you've been on the giving or receiving end of hurtful suspicion based on appearance, you'll get something out of this book. At Halloween or any time of year, Mystery on October Road is a good read.
Casey and Cats want an excuse to go to the man's house and look around, and that excuse comes in the form of homemade bread baked by Casey's mother for the new neighbor. The offering doesn't get them inside his house, though, and the man's gruff attitude reinforces their suspicion that he's hiding something. Cats asks Benny Dilmers, a boy from school, to run surveillance and find out if the neighbor is conducting illegal business in his basement. Casey would rather hang out just with Cats, but Benny owns a quality set of binoculars that will enable them to spy from a safe distance. After more observation yields nothing new, Benny decides it's time to sneak into the neighbor's basement and see what's down there. Casey has a bad feeling about this.
The basement turns out not to be a chamber of horrors when Casey, Cats, and Benny slip in through an open window. The man—John Smith, according to a nameplate on a box—has little in the basement besides a woodworking project and tools to carve wood into intricate designs. The three kids panic when Mr. Smith's van pulls up outside. Cats and Benny squeeze back through the window and out of sight, but Casey falls and hurts her ankle. She watches in terror as Mr. Smith enters the basement with his dogs, angry at having his home invaded. Casey wanted the truth about him, but not under these circumstances. As it turns out, Mr. Smith is a normal man with a tragic story, not a crazy criminal that Casey or her friends should fear. He has good reason not to show his face in public, and a bit of mutual understanding and compassion might help him and Casey become amicable neighbors, if not quite friends. But can Mr. Smith forgive her for breaking into his home? The man has a talent that makes him unique, and he just might put it to use on Halloween night in a gesture that shows he has no hard feelings toward Casey. Mr. Smith is going to be an interesting neighbor.
Alison Cragin Herzig and Jane Lawrence Mali teamed up for numerous books, including Oh, Boy! Babies!, which won the 1981 National Book Award for children's nonfiction. Mystery on October Road doesn't feel like the work of an award-winning duo, but its main strength is uncompromising realism. As with most actual childhood adventures, it's brief—only fifty-seven pages—and there's no neat happy ending with everything solved. That lends the narrative an authenticity I value. If you've been on the giving or receiving end of hurtful suspicion based on appearance, you'll get something out of this book. At Halloween or any time of year, Mystery on October Road is a good read.
October 24, 2016
I loved this book when I was in elementary school. I pulled it out today to read to my boys. They loved it.
September 26, 2024
This was a super cute and very quick children's mystery book. I never read books as a child, so this year, I've been trying to see what I missed out on here and there. This is a great book for kids around Halloween time! I love that the kids think, talk, and act their age.
May 24, 2019
A charming little Halloween story which is not spooky but is full of the warmth of the autumn season.
Short and easy for readers 3rd-5th grade.
Short and easy for readers 3rd-5th grade.
March 18, 2020
Even if it were "only entering" and not breaking and entering, it's still a really bad thing to do. :(
Lucky he was truly a nice guy with fantastic skills.
Lucky he was truly a nice guy with fantastic skills.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2025
It's a good, short book to read on a Sunday afternoon. It's written really well
June 2, 2023
I didn’t like the reputation Casey had for jumping to conclusions and misidentifying things. Her friend Cats had all these examples of how she had mistaken things for something else and I was irritated. She was like the boy who cried wolf.
The girls were so dramatic about the visit to the neighbor’s. Cats screamed and dropped the tray when the man looked at her and swore he was a big hairy beast. Then they ran away and dove into a pile of leaves for some reason. And Casey went back to pick up the bread off the porch, wiped it on her pants, and then put them back on the tray. She actually did this. Who wants to eat food that fell on the porch and was wiped on a girl’s pants??
She discovered that he put the tray in their mailbox and raised the flag, and left a bag of apples, tangerines, and nuts. Cat had gotten Benny into it and he had plenty of crazy ideas and Casey resented him being involved and just wanted her and Cats. Benny thought it must be poisoned even after her dad ate some and was just fine, so Casey threw the rest of them in the clothes dryer so her mom wouldn’t see them in the trash. Again, not funny. The stupid and crazy things they did and thought was so not amusing. He’s nice enough to return the gesture by giving you what he has to give and you throw it away.
Benny saw the man in his house and thought he had a scary mask on. They went through an open window into his basement after he left, and Casey started having second thoughts. But by that time it was too late. He came back and Benny and Cats got out but Casey fell and hurt her ankle. She told him that Benny thought he had a mask, and he took his bandana down and showed her his face. It was burnt and missing hair on one side of his head. He helped her up and wrapped her ankle.
It turned out he used to carve animals for carousels, and he had gone back inside to get his tools in the fire and that was how he was burned.
Benny and Cats made him seem like a sideshow freak, wanted to go and see his face and burns because they’d never seen someone who was burned and wanted to see if he could whistle. It was awful. Casey could have stuck up for him, instead of just finally saying she didn’t want to go.
She made a Jack-o-lantern and left it on his back deck with a note saying she’d never do that again and to please not tell her parents.
On Halloween, she went trick or treating with Cats. One stop was her teacher’s house who took pity on her for being on crutches and gave her two caramel apples. She gave them to her mom because no one else wanted them. I wondered why I was reading this. Like why write that her teacher’s nice gesture was ruined by her giving them away to the only person who would take them? That’s mean. I wondered many times why certain details were written at all of written a certain way. The book is so short, please keep conversations and details relevant and book-worthy.
He had carved all of these Jack-o-lanterns and put them out at his house. He left the one that Casey gave him in his window and he made one with her face and put it by itself. Her mom called everyone and people were riding by to see them.
And then it ended. I was so disappointed with the sudden ending. I wanted to know if he took up carving again or if people accepted him in town. I hate sudden endings with no conclusions to anything.
The girls were so dramatic about the visit to the neighbor’s. Cats screamed and dropped the tray when the man looked at her and swore he was a big hairy beast. Then they ran away and dove into a pile of leaves for some reason. And Casey went back to pick up the bread off the porch, wiped it on her pants, and then put them back on the tray. She actually did this. Who wants to eat food that fell on the porch and was wiped on a girl’s pants??
She discovered that he put the tray in their mailbox and raised the flag, and left a bag of apples, tangerines, and nuts. Cat had gotten Benny into it and he had plenty of crazy ideas and Casey resented him being involved and just wanted her and Cats. Benny thought it must be poisoned even after her dad ate some and was just fine, so Casey threw the rest of them in the clothes dryer so her mom wouldn’t see them in the trash. Again, not funny. The stupid and crazy things they did and thought was so not amusing. He’s nice enough to return the gesture by giving you what he has to give and you throw it away.
Benny saw the man in his house and thought he had a scary mask on. They went through an open window into his basement after he left, and Casey started having second thoughts. But by that time it was too late. He came back and Benny and Cats got out but Casey fell and hurt her ankle. She told him that Benny thought he had a mask, and he took his bandana down and showed her his face. It was burnt and missing hair on one side of his head. He helped her up and wrapped her ankle.
It turned out he used to carve animals for carousels, and he had gone back inside to get his tools in the fire and that was how he was burned.
Benny and Cats made him seem like a sideshow freak, wanted to go and see his face and burns because they’d never seen someone who was burned and wanted to see if he could whistle. It was awful. Casey could have stuck up for him, instead of just finally saying she didn’t want to go.
She made a Jack-o-lantern and left it on his back deck with a note saying she’d never do that again and to please not tell her parents.
On Halloween, she went trick or treating with Cats. One stop was her teacher’s house who took pity on her for being on crutches and gave her two caramel apples. She gave them to her mom because no one else wanted them. I wondered why I was reading this. Like why write that her teacher’s nice gesture was ruined by her giving them away to the only person who would take them? That’s mean. I wondered many times why certain details were written at all of written a certain way. The book is so short, please keep conversations and details relevant and book-worthy.
He had carved all of these Jack-o-lanterns and put them out at his house. He left the one that Casey gave him in his window and he made one with her face and put it by itself. Her mom called everyone and people were riding by to see them.
And then it ended. I was so disappointed with the sudden ending. I wanted to know if he took up carving again or if people accepted him in town. I hate sudden endings with no conclusions to anything.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2025
I have the most eclectic private mystery collection of anyone I know: gothic vibes from the 1960s to 2000s, obscure authors who only published a few, and gloriously Canadian content. Unless you keep shopping, which I have reigned in; secondhand sources shall always gift us with surprises. Publishing through my school years undiscovered by me, with her emphasis on social situations more than on intrigue, I scooped up her 1991 novel for nearly nothing at a garage or charity sale. “Mystery On October Road” was an enjoyable introduction to Alison Cragin Herzig. Her little 57 page novel would be visually enchanting as a family film for the occasion of Hallowe’en.
My feedback scaled down to three stars that are a common level, unless an author astounds me with a vibrantly original imagination and lays off annoying aspects, like saying “have got” instead of “HAVE” and such unrealistic actions among characters that it is major nonsense. There was a little of both and the premise was as plain as vanilla: having wild ideas about a quiet new neighbour. May we all have good quality privacy without explanations to anyone. We pray for quiet neighbours at every meal. Thank goodness these days it is going our way!
Never judging anyone without facts, is a poorly practiced moral that bears presenting again in 1991 and 2025. Stories of better behaviour can be accomplished more suspensefully than this. This was about nosy, bored kids trespassing. Would you wait for your Mom to make introductions for your family, like a sane person, or would you barge into anyone’s window with no excuse but curiosity? There was no intelligent inquiring. Everything was revealed after it was necessary for the neighbour to speak to Casey.
My three stars applaud a warm jack-o-lantern scene when this novel closes.
My feedback scaled down to three stars that are a common level, unless an author astounds me with a vibrantly original imagination and lays off annoying aspects, like saying “have got” instead of “HAVE” and such unrealistic actions among characters that it is major nonsense. There was a little of both and the premise was as plain as vanilla: having wild ideas about a quiet new neighbour. May we all have good quality privacy without explanations to anyone. We pray for quiet neighbours at every meal. Thank goodness these days it is going our way!
Never judging anyone without facts, is a poorly practiced moral that bears presenting again in 1991 and 2025. Stories of better behaviour can be accomplished more suspensefully than this. This was about nosy, bored kids trespassing. Would you wait for your Mom to make introductions for your family, like a sane person, or would you barge into anyone’s window with no excuse but curiosity? There was no intelligent inquiring. Everything was revealed after it was necessary for the neighbour to speak to Casey.
My three stars applaud a warm jack-o-lantern scene when this novel closes.
October 22, 2014
Wow! I read this book so many times when I was in elementary school, always checking it out of the school library. I remember it being my absolute favorite, no matter what time of year. I cannot remember what it's even about right now, but I've always thought about it (something like 20 years now!) I'm definitely going to order a copy of it off Amazon and read it to my kids down the road. I must have loved it so much for a reason.
May 26, 2008
My teacher read this book to the class when I was in fifth grade, I remember being on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered it. Definietly a kid book with a good moral.
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October 4, 2014The only book I'd read as a kid. Once a year, around Halloween, I'd take it out of the library at school.
March 15, 2016
Aside from the talk of Halloween junk, it was a very good story. I threw the book but would make a good story to tell, leaving out the objectionable parts.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews