In the previous Lewis Barnavelt novel we are left with nary a Barnavelt in sight, following Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmerman through time and back, so it’s only fair that Lewis and Uncle Jonathan get to entertain us with a solo trip through Europe in this book! We first meet them fittingly in London, where Bellairs (and co-writer Brad Strickland) give us a taste of British wit when the two get directions from a London bobby to the (fictitious) home of Sherlock Holmes. The Victorian gothic themes are strong throughout the novel, as the Barnavelt’s visit their distant cousin Pelham, who lives in a decrepit Baskerville style country house. Of course, Lewis immediately causes chaos when he and his new friend Bertie inadvertently set loose a demonic entity and a vengeful ghost of the (titular) witchfinder, who they must figure out how to defeat without the help of the grownups. We all know throughout that Lewis and Bertie will save the day, but Bellair’s and Strickland’s writing keeps the suspense going as they weave a historical mystery perfectly suited to the English countryside setting. A few of the previous books haven’t quite hit the high note of the first Lewis Barnavelt novel, but with this collaboration I feel like the series has picked up once again, and I am looking forward to seeing what magical and mysterious highjinx that the gang will get up to next! ( )

Lewis Barnavelt and his uncle are in England, visiting their cousin at Barnavelt Manor. There, Lewis becomes fast friends with the housekeeper's son. As the two boys explore the garden maze, lewis accidentally unleashes demonic forces that summon the ghost of Malachiah Pruitt, who tried to have one of Lewis's ancestors executed for witchcraft. Can lewis fight the maniac wizard, or will all the Barnavelts perish?

The second of two manuscripts finished by Brad Strickland after John Bellairs' death. This was a more typical novel for Bellairs, following shy Lewis and his new friend Bertie as they cause and avert supernatural misfortune at the Barnavelt ancestral estate in England.

My opinion of this has improved since childhood, I remember being disappointed there wasn't more done with an actual "FOR REAL" gothic country house. But, you guys, there's a haunted hedge maze.

This text had more of that authentic Bellairs flavor, following Lewis' adoration of Sherlock Holmes, the English Civil War, and little details about mid-century tourism. I could have used a party-line joke when telephones came into it, but to each their own.

Lewis & Rose Rita

Next: 'The Doom of the Haunted Opera'

Previous: 'The Ghost in the Mirror' ( )

Jonathan and Lewis travel to Europe to visit Jonathan's cousin, Pelly, and while staying at Pelly's old manor house, Lewis and his new friend, Bertie, accidentally release an evil witch-finder ghost on the grounds.
We love Bellairs and Charlie has really been enjoying them as our occasional bedtime read-alouds, but this one got a bit too creepy for him in the middle. We took a break for a couple of days and then he wanted to get back to it, and we were able to finish it then. It's good knowing that everything always turns out right in the end, and I think that helped. The characters are great and the stories are fun, so I suspect that Charlie will choose to continue with the series. ( )

The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder has Lewis Barnavelt and his Uncle Jonathan take a trip to Europe. Their first stop is London, England where we get reacquainted with Lewis' ability to deduce logical conclusions from a few clues when a bobby (policeman) helps him figure out where 122B Baker Street would have been located in pre-World War II (which was fairly recent in the book's fictional history) London. Later, that same bobby will come to the rescue even though Lewis and Jonathan are in the countryside, but that's getting ahead of the events.

Vengeance is similar to The Ghost in the Mirror, which preceded this novel, in that the young person and the adult are alone together on a trip which proves to be more dangerous than either expected. In Ghost, the pair were Rose Rita Pottinger and Mrs. Zimmerman. The action in the two books happens concurrently over a single summer's vacation.

One great aspect of the two books is that each one introduces children to culture they might not be familiar with. The England Lewis visits is not the England of Harry Potter, but a traditional tourist destination filled trip with destinations like the Tower of London.

But Lewis is a curious boy who makes friends with his cousin's housekeeper's son, Bertie, who is blind. Bertie, who knows the grounds of Barnavelt Manor intimately, despite his handicap, enjoys showing Lewis around, while introducing Lewis to what it is like to be blind. Most fascinating to the boys is the maze in front of the manor. Note that this book was published four years before JK Rowling published Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because the maze becomes a central part of the conflict the boys have to deal with on their own, much in the same way Harry and Cedric Diggory have to navigate a maze in Goblet. Lewis and Bertie, though, end up releasing an evil spirit once conjured and used by a notorious Puritan witch-finder, Malachiah Pruitt, who had tried to financially ruin Lewis' far removed cousin, Martin Christian Barnavelt--an act that set up the family's future financial difficulties that extend to post-war Pelham Barnavelt's current money problems.

The evil spirit is able to bring Pruitt back to life and both proceed to mesmerize Cousin Pelly and Bertie's mother, and taking Uncle Jonathan prisoner. On their own, Lewis and Bertie have to try to save their families and get rid of the evil trying to claim Barnavelt Manor.

Clever Lewis wins the day in a surprisingly clever way with a little mental magic of his own. ( )