By Victoria Schwab
Ever since she nearly drowned, Cassidy can slip behind the curtain between the living and the dead, and in the ghost-crowded streets of Edinburgh something on the other side wants to keep her there.
Cassidy Blake nearly drowned once, and a ghost named Jacob pulled her out. Now Jacob is her best friend, and Cass can step behind the Veil, the thin curtain that separates our world from the dead. Her parents write books about hauntings and are filming a ghost-hunting TV show, so the whole family heads to Edinburgh, one of the most haunted cities in the world. There Cass meets another girl who can cross the Veil, and a far more dangerous spirit: the Raven in Red, a ghost who lures children and steals their lives to keep herself going. When the Raven sets her sights on Cass, being able to see the dead stops being a secret and starts being the thing that could get her killed.
This is a step up from the pure spook of Goosebumps because the fear comes with a real mystery and a heroine you're rooting for, so a child who wants more story with their scares gets both. The ghosts are eerie and the villain is properly menacing, but Schwab keeps Cass clever and brave, so your child always has a hand to hold. It's also the first of a series set in a new haunted city each book, so a hooked child has somewhere to go next.