This is the third installment in the Winterhouse series. As a reader, you know the villain, Gracella, is never very far from the Winterhouse Hotel and hasn’t given up on her goal of bending Elizabeth to her will. You also know, she can influence people’s actions without their knowledge, even as a spectre. In the past, she’s done it by possessing their bodies for short periods of time. But Elizabeth and her best friend, Freddy, defeated her in the last two books, right?
Yeah, definitely not. Gracella’s got a new trick up her sleeve in her latest scheme to “get reanimated in a fresh new body,” and it involves playing on Elizabeth’s goodness and twisting the girl’s need to do the “right” thing.
Ominous rumbles rock the countryside outside Winterhouse. Elizabeth’s skiing when she discovers an entrance to an old mine and encounters a new teacher at the local school, Hyruum, also on skiis, who hears the rumbling. When the shakes are felt in the hotel, Elizabeth’s guardian, Norbridge, assures the hotel guests that it’s thundersnow or the rumble of the nearby lake thawing and the ice moving rapidly. Elizabeth isn’t buying it; she knows it’s Gracella flexing her muscles. But how? What’s Gracella’s latest plan to rise from the dead?
She and Freddy discover a riddle, one they must solve, but the clues are slow to reveal themselves.
The puzzlers from previous books are particularly motivated to finish a puzzle Norbridge found in a closet and brought out for them. It has an unbelievable number of pieces, hence their fascination, including booking extra time and stays at the hotel to finish it. On a whim, Elizabeth steals a piece, making it impossible for them to finish it. Now, why would she do that?
There’s also a book in Gracella’s room, one even the Winterhouse librarian doesn’t have a copy of. It’s only rumored to exist, but Elizabeth snuck into the room and has seen it in the bedside drawer. Does it contain the details to a secret ritual that just might save the girl who sacrificed herself in the last book and was drained of her life force by Gracella and her minions?
I won’t share any more, or you’ll figure it out. I loved this slightly spooky, follow-the-clues conclusion to the series! Enjoy.
