One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen

". . . very likeable . . ."

Charlotte Silver does not have the typical family. Her parents are both paranormal investigators and host their own realty TV show, where they attempt to debunk haunted houses of all sorts.

During Christmas break, Charlotte, her sister Annalise and their parents are filming at an insane asylum that is said to be haunted. They have to wait for Leonard Zelden, an apparent demonoligist, before they are able to start filming. Zelden’s assistant, Markus, attacks Charlotte, leaving her with an injured arm.

Once Charlotte arrives back home, she is invited to a New Year’s party by a guy on the football team, someone her best friend Avery wants to set her up with. Charlotte eventually attends a party across the street, where a bunch of teens are playing a game called “100 Candles,” where everyone tells ghost stories and lights a candle for every story told.

Nothing untoward happens at the party, but in the following weeks at school, parts of the stories that were told seem to be coming true. A ghost dog is seen walking the hallways; all of the locker doors in one hallway are opened at once … are there really ghosts roaming the halls of Charlotte’s high school, or is it just another story for Charlotte’s parents to debunk?

What about Markus’s attack on Charlotte? Was it the work of a disturbed young man, or something more sinister?

One Hundred Candles is the second book in Mara Purnhagen’s series. It should be read together with the first book, After Midnight, to give a better background to the story. It is a simple read, but Charlotte is very likeable and easy to get to know.

Reviewer: Carol Hansson