City of the Dead by Tony Abbott

So, I literally finished this book last night. I was told by a student that this was a boring book. However, this is a student who stops reading if a realistic but entertaining story hasn't captured him in the first few pages. 


This is the first book in a series called The Haunting of Derek Stone. Derek is the main character who tells this story in first person. The book is very easy to read because it is told from a 12-year-old boy's point of view.


I was a little bored at first and was wondering where the ghosts came in. The second chapter gets very scary because Derek describes a train accident that he was in with his father and brother. Both are not found and presumed to be dead. Derek starts to research what really happened when his brother comes home but acts like a totally different person.


I was disappointed with the lack of ghosts in this story. However, they really start to appear in the last few chapters of the book. The kicker is that they are not really ghosts. They are souls inhabiting bodies. Trust me, Derek explains it to you. I don't want to ruin the story. I thought it was very clever of the author to leave the story hanging at the end of the book. It makes you want to go get the next book in the series to find out what happens.


Good thing I bought the second book when I bought the first, huh?