The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater by Jaime Jo Wright: Book Review

 *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

It promises beauty but steals life instead. Will the ghosts of Barlowe Theater entomb them all?

Barlowe Theater stole the life of Greta Mercy's eldest brother during its construction. Now in 1915, the completed theater appears every bit as deadly. When Greta's younger brother goes missing after breaking into the building, Greta engages the assistance of a local police officer to help her unveil the already ghostly secrets of the theater. But when help comes from an unlikely source, Greta decides that to save her family she must uncover the evil that haunts the theater and put its threat to rest.

Decades later, Kit Boyd's best friend vanishes during a ghost walk at the Barlowe Theater, and old stories of mysterious disappearances and ghoulish happenings are revived. Then television ghost-hunting host and skeptic Evan Fisher joins Kit in the quest to identify the truth behind the theater's history. Kit reluctantly agrees to work with him in hopes of finding her missing friend. As the theater's curse unravels Kit's life, she is determined to put an end to the evil that has marked the theater and their hometown for the last century.

Jaime Jo Wright (jaimewrightbooks.com) is the author of nine novels, including Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award winner The House on Foster Hill and Carol Award winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She's also the Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestselling author of two novellas. Jaime lives in Wisconsin with her cat named Foo; her husband, Cap'n Hook; and their two mini-adults, Peter Pan and CoCo. 

Oh my goodness, what a book! I have never read a Jaime Jo Wright book that I didn't like... but this one is definitely one of her best! From the first page, I found myself drawn into the story and it held me right through to the end. 

Now, for those who have never read a Jaime Jo Wright book, you might be wondering what ghosts and psychic mediums are doing in a Christian fiction book? Believe me, that was my initial question when I read my first of her books. But don't let that idea sway you from giving it a chance. While she does a beautiful job of creating haunting and spooky tales that seem as if they have no other possible explanation... in the end, it's all explained in ways that make sense and are very much not what they seem. It's like the unmasking at the end of each Scooby Doo mystery! Even knowing this about the author, I still found myself thinking there was no natural explanation that would explain this one... and yet, that's exactly what happens! I love the mystery of it all! This book is a prime example of why Jaime Jo Wright it one of my favorites! 

If you're looking for a spooky (but not too scary) read, this is absolutely one to check out!