About the Author

John Bellairs is beloved as a master of Gothic young adult novels and fantasies. His series about the adventures of Lewis Barnavelt and his uncle Jonathan, which includes The House with a Clock in Its Walls, is a classic. He also wrote a series of novels featuring the character Johnny Dixon. Among the titles in that series are The Curse of the Blue Figurine; The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt; and The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull. His stand-alone novel The Face in the Frost is also regarded as a fantasy classic, and among his earlier works are St. Fidgeta and Other Parodies and The Pedant and the Shuffly.

Bellairs was a prolific writer, publishing more than a dozen novels before his untimely death in 1991.

Reviews

Praise for John Bellairs
 
“I have just spent a long rainy weekend buried under a quilt, devouring salty peanuts and a stack of John Bellairs mysteries. It was heaven . . . Much like other mysteries, these short works of the imagination are designed and constructed with the fine storytelling craft of an adult master. . . . Bellairs moves the action at a furious clip. . . . [These] hair-raising adventures also excite readers because they involve believable and likable characters with whom we can empathize in moments of danger . . . An endearing detective team.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
“Is there no end to the suspense John Bellairs can create?” —School Library Journal
 
“There’s suspense and action aplenty. . . Perfect for the pre-Stephen King set.” —Booklist
 
“Sophisticated notions on the nature of good and evil, nuanced storytelling, and expert world-building.” —AV Club