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Can a ghost living inside the walls of Marleigh Manor Adella Hester Cumberbatch's father dragged her around to his countless carpentry jobs. Adella learned quickly, and could soon expertly hammer, chisel, and saw wood, yet no one will hire a woman carpenter in the early Elizabethan Age. When her father passes away, and the money runs out, Adella has no choice but to sell her father's tools. |
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All the local carpenters are adding a new wing onto distant Marleigh Manor. Although dangerous, Adella begins her journey, lugging her father's heavy toolbox all the way. Chased by a ruffian, Adella is forced to defend herself, and arrives at Marleigh Manor afraid to show her face. At sunset, Adella sneaks into the new, half-built wing, and finds a small dead space. Adella uses her carpentry skills to expand the dead space into a hidden, secret room only for her. Squatting, Adella must sneak about without being seen, but the rich inhabitants notice when food and clothes go missing. The Marleigh family starts to believe their newest wing is haunted, and soon refer to Adella as the Ghost of Marleigh Manor. Then, when a prominent member of the family is found murdered in a locked room, everyone blames the ghost. But Adella is the ghost! If she tries to flee, her footprints in the snow will be found before she reaches the next town. To save herself, Adella must quietly discover who the real murderer is, and expose them. However, if she's discovered before she can find and reveal the real murderer, then the Marleigh family will blame the murder upon her. Can Adella escape a hangman's noose?
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(Murder at Marleigh Manor is appropriate for younger teenagers or older. They are written at the same level as Treasure Island, Harry Potter (1 - 3), or Xanth, with appropriate but muted violence, simple romantic allusions, and no sexual content.)
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