Greenglass House and Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Milo lives with his adopted mom and dad in  the Greenglass House hotel in Canada that is frequented by smugglers.  It is usually empty over the winter break, but the year Milo is 12, they have a number of unexpected visitors.  One, Meddy, is a girl about Milo's age, and together they try to figure out what all the other mysterious visitors are up to. They soon discover that no one is who they seem and all have ties to the Greenglass House's history.

I didn't read this when it first came out even though it got tons of great reviews.  Then as the others in the series came out
they all got good reviews, too.  When I saw that the 4th in the series also got good reviews, I decided I would finally start the series.  I am glad I did.  Milford is a great writer, and the mystery plot is brilliantly crafted. In the midst of all the clues, red herrings and plot twists, Milford also manages to draw the characters so well you feel like you know them all by the end of the book.  (2014, 376 p.)

When I finished this book, I needed another to read and didn't have a lot of time to search, so I just went on to the second in the series, The Ghosts of Greenglass House.  I liked it as well, but maybe not quite as much as the first.  Still, I will probably read the rest of the series, but maybe after taking a break from kid lit for a while. (2017, 456 p.)