Greenglass House

Greenglass House
by Kate Milford
Clarion, 2014.  376 pgs.  Mystery

     Milo Pine is looking forward to a long, quiet, Christmas break at his family's inn (which caters to smugglers). But suddenly the guest bell rings and Milo and his mom have to set the old tram car into motion that will bring a customer up the hill.  One is bad enough, thinks Milo, but soon the old inn is housing a whole flock of eccentric guests who seem to be looking for something, while they are stealing things from each other. Milo and Meddy, the cook's daughter, decide to investigate under the guise of playing a fantasy game, and they soon have more mysteries than they can quite handle.  Greenglass House seems like a cold and mysterious version of the board game Clue with multiple unusual characters spying on one another, and Milo and Meddy (but mostly Milo) trying to figure out who did what and why.  A startling discovery towards the end of the book turns the whole story on its head, but one would have to be very wicked to reveal that secret.  Greenglass House is particularly distinguished by Milo's having wonderful parents--and wonderful, adoptive parents at that. Fine reading for fifth graders on up.