Midnight at the Barclay Hotel

Gr 3-7–When unexpected invitations are received for an all-expenses-paid weekend at the newly renovated (yet rumored to be haunted) Barclay Hotel, no one thinks to question why. The five invited guests—a cowboy, a librarian, an actress, a CEO with 12-year-old son JJ, and a detective with 11-year-old granddaughter Penny—arrive and discover they are there to solve a murder. It turns out that most of them are suspects. JJ, a ghost-hunting enthusiast, and bookish Penny team up with Emma, a mysterious girl who lives at the hotel, to discover everyone’s secrets and figure out the answer. Veteran narrator January LaVoy reads, and does a wonderful job adding life and sparkle to the audio. Characters are differentiated well, particularly JJ, who is convincingly read with a husky voice. As the kids follow the clues, there are various twists and turns to keep the listeners absorbed, and LaVoy’s reading of the suspenseful parts leaves the listener breathless. The Barclay Hotel itself is described in such an atmospheric way that it is easy for listeners to picture the spooky setting. Penny and her grandfather are African American while the other characters appear to be white.