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Charlie MacCready - The Ghost in the Attic
"I am not an orphan. Someday my parents will come for me and we will be a real family."
Sent to St. Michael's Abbey & Home for Boys by his Uncle Chester, Charlie finds himself in
the middle of another mystery. Awakened in the middle of the night, he hears a sound coming
from the attic above his bed. Together with his friends Howard, Gus and Rick, they set out
to find "The Ghost In The Attic."
Sent to St. Michael's Abbey & Home for Boys by his Uncle Chester, Charlie finds himself in
the middle of another mystery. Awakened in the middle of the night, he hears a sound coming
from the attic above his bed. Together with his friends Howard, Gus and Rick, they set out
to find "The Ghost In The Attic."
- GenresMystery
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
James M. McCracken
19 books4 followersJames M. McCracken was born and raised in Oregon. He is the fifth of seven children. He lost his mother when he was eighteen. That is why family has always been important to him and features prominently in the stories he writes.
However, his love for writing began when he was a teen. At age 13 he went away to a seminary boarding school. It was there that he began to write but mainly for his own entertainment. He felt his ideas and stories weren't "good enough" to share. That changed his senior year when he saw a movie poster. The movie's storyline was the same as a story he had written two years earlier. He reasoned "If two people could have the same idea, then maybe my ideas aren't stupid after all."
It took another twenty years of writing while working full-time at the telephone company before his first novel was published, SECRETS The Wallace Family.
With the major shift and changes in the publishing industry, James turned to self-publishing, reasoning that authors Mark Twain, John Grisham, J. K. Rowling and many others self-published their own novels in the beginning before being picked up by 'traditional publishing' houses.
Two years after the release of his first novel, James published the first book in a new young reader series inspired by his teen years in a boarding school. CHARLIE MACCREADY The Ghost in the Attic. When the second in the series came out, problems with the foreign publishing company caused him to cancel his contract with them and go another route.
After retiring early from the telephone company, James began to focus more time to his writing. He has now broadened his range venturing into writing Sci-Fi with a post-apocalyptic novel AWAKE and also into Thrillers/Suspense with ELLENSBURG and STUMPTOWN.
In 2009 he left the Portland area and moved to Central Oregon where the quieter, slower-paced life affords him more time to focus and write.
However, his love for writing began when he was a teen. At age 13 he went away to a seminary boarding school. It was there that he began to write but mainly for his own entertainment. He felt his ideas and stories weren't "good enough" to share. That changed his senior year when he saw a movie poster. The movie's storyline was the same as a story he had written two years earlier. He reasoned "If two people could have the same idea, then maybe my ideas aren't stupid after all."
It took another twenty years of writing while working full-time at the telephone company before his first novel was published, SECRETS The Wallace Family.
With the major shift and changes in the publishing industry, James turned to self-publishing, reasoning that authors Mark Twain, John Grisham, J. K. Rowling and many others self-published their own novels in the beginning before being picked up by 'traditional publishing' houses.
Two years after the release of his first novel, James published the first book in a new young reader series inspired by his teen years in a boarding school. CHARLIE MACCREADY The Ghost in the Attic. When the second in the series came out, problems with the foreign publishing company caused him to cancel his contract with them and go another route.
After retiring early from the telephone company, James began to focus more time to his writing. He has now broadened his range venturing into writing Sci-Fi with a post-apocalyptic novel AWAKE and also into Thrillers/Suspense with ELLENSBURG and STUMPTOWN.
In 2009 he left the Portland area and moved to Central Oregon where the quieter, slower-paced life affords him more time to focus and write.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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December 14, 2023Set in a church-run orphanage, James M McCracken’s Charlie MacCready series brings together a cool group of orphans and a setting reminiscent of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. The relationships and locations are beautifully portrayed, with a clever mix of teachers and boys, and a good sense that outward appearances might belie true characters. The story’s driven by one mystery, but carries another at its core which surely will be revealed as the series progresses. That said, it stands alone as a thoroughly enjoyable children’s mystery, evoking those books I used to steal from my brothers and read in bed, by the light of a streetlamp, when I was a kid (because girls’ stories always seemed so boring back then). I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Disclosure: I’m not sure how I got it, but I need to read more.
Disclosure: I’m not sure how I got it, but I need to read more.
May 6, 2021
Mystery and suspense at the Abbey.
Charlie lives with his grandparents, but after his grandfather dies his uncle forces his grandmother into a home. Charlie is sent to an Abbey that caters for orphans as we as troubled boys. His grandmother gives him a key to look after, but won't tell him what it will open. Charlie finds friends and enemies there and noises from the attic which s are and excite him.
He needs to find his feet and learn who to trust a nd who to keep away from. Some boys from another dorm cause him problems.
What should he believe?
An excellent read for all lovers of the supernatural world.
Charlie lives with his grandparents, but after his grandfather dies his uncle forces his grandmother into a home. Charlie is sent to an Abbey that caters for orphans as we as troubled boys. His grandmother gives him a key to look after, but won't tell him what it will open. Charlie finds friends and enemies there and noises from the attic which s are and excite him.
He needs to find his feet and learn who to trust a nd who to keep away from. Some boys from another dorm cause him problems.
What should he believe?
An excellent read for all lovers of the supernatural world.
May 18, 2021
Friends
I liked this book very much. Charlie and Howard became quick friends and were soon getting into different scenarios that young boys are common for including a story about ghosts in the attic.
I liked this book very much. Charlie and Howard became quick friends and were soon getting into different scenarios that young boys are common for including a story about ghosts in the attic.
September 10, 2015
This, I believe, is the first book in the series.
This story is aimed a YA boys, but I had a blast reading it too. I think it says a lot when a YA book can entice an older reader as well. Mr. MacCracken does a goo job of setting the story up and the characters are well defined and engaging.
There is nothing too creepy or scary in here, so I think YA readers would be fine reading it as well.
An enjoyable weekend was spent reading this. I would read another in this series.
Three stars.
This story is aimed a YA boys, but I had a blast reading it too. I think it says a lot when a YA book can entice an older reader as well. Mr. MacCracken does a goo job of setting the story up and the characters are well defined and engaging.
There is nothing too creepy or scary in here, so I think YA readers would be fine reading it as well.
An enjoyable weekend was spent reading this. I would read another in this series.
Three stars.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews