Peril at Price Manor - by Laura Parnum (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Fans of Ghost Squad will love this lightly scary creature feature standalone novel about a tween aspiring horror movie actress who pairs up with the twin children of her favorite director to defeat zombifying octopus-like creatures!

Halle dreams of becoming a scream queen. She practices her loudest scream every day and has learned a lot from studying the horror movies of her favorite director, Maximus Price. Maximus lives just outside town, and when the chance to go to his home arises, Halle grabs it with both hands. She doesn't realize that real life horrors await her at Price Manor.

Paisley and Argyle, Maximus's twin children, think that the creepy, squid-like creatures that have attached themselves to the faces of the manor's staff, putting them in a zombie-like stupor, are just another one of their prankster dad's tricks. When Halle arrives and is attacked by one of the creatures, she meets the twins and assures them that this is no joke. The three kids will have to work together using all of their unusual talents to defeat the monsters--and maybe even save the world.

Blending quirky humor and poignant heart with delightfully creepy monsters, this debut middle grade novel is a perfect entry point for young readers to the horror genre.

"Price Manor is perfectly mysterious. With just the right amount of chills and thrills, I was hooked from page one!"--Lindsay Currie, author of Scritch Scratch and The Girl in White

"It's Alien in a spooky mansion. Nonstop action, tentacles, and slime. So much fun."--J.W. Ocker, author of The Smashed Man of Dread End

Review Quotes

"Price Manor is perfectly mysterious. With just the right amount of chills and thrills, I was hooked from page one!"
-- ?Lindsay Currie, author of Scritch Scratch and The Girl in White

"It's Alien in a spooky mansion. Nonstop action, tentacles, and slime. So much fun." -- J.W. Ocker, author of The Smashed Man of Dread End

"Halle's vast knowledge of horror tropes combines with the idiosyncratic skill sets of the long-cloistered Price offspring, and between a roller-skating disco, sousaphone practice, and a horrifying foray into a stinky cheese cellar, they tackle the tickly nemeses and prove themselves resourceful and brave in the process. Playing lightly on the tropes of classic B-movie horror, Parnum's imaginative and satisfying debut is packed with high-spirited hijinks. Playful energy propels a laugh-out-loud scary story that doesn't tread too far into truly terrifying territory." -- Kirkus Reviews

"[A] good-humored romp. Debut author Parnum keeps the scares gentle but gooey via lively prose that conveys a vibrant setting. Quick-moving chapters and alternating perspectives that showcase the characters' dawning agency make for a propulsive creature feature."
-- Publishers Weekly

"Parnum's whip-smart narrative pokes fun at its own genre with a classic middle-grade cheekiness, giving each character depth beyond their archetypes. The three main characters have a delightful combination of bizarre talents. A playful acknowledgement that overbearing parents stop their kids from fully experiencing the world, this is a fantastic combination of mild locked-room horror and heroes who manifest in unlikely and hilarious ways." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books