cover image Agnes Cecilia

Agnes Cecilia

Maria Gripe. HarperCollins Publishers, $14.95 (282pp) ISBN 978-0-06-022281-9

Supernatural forces begin to surround Nora when she and the family that has taken care of her since her parents' tragic death years before move to a strange, old apartment. Guided by dreams, mysteriously revealed messages in a book of folklore, odd coincidences and the proddings of Dag, the boy she has grown up with, Nora is led to a toy repair shop where she is given a beautiful old doll that seems almost alive. But Nora's ultimate destination, and the purpose of her journey, are shrouded in mystery. Incident follows incident and suspense mounts as a generations-old puzzle begins to unravel. Agnes Cecilia is a first-rate mystery, a precise, warm-hearted psychological study and a remarkably original ghost story wrapped up in one thoroughly engrossing book. Ages 12-up. (May)