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American Girl History Mysteries #6
Mystery of the Dark Tower
These suspenseful stories will leave readers on the edge of their seats! Each spine-tingling tale features a brave, clever girl solving an intriguing mystery at an important time in America's past.Why is Bessie's family being whisked away to New York City without her mother? Her search for answers leads her into the exciting world of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s.
Library Binding
First published March 1, 2000
About the author
Evelyn Coleman
23 books31 followersEvelyn Coleman is an Edgar Award finalist. She is best known for her many books with American Girl. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
August 7, 2012
There must be quite a few parents who subscribe to the belief that one shouldn't tell children "grown up" problems, even when those problems directly affect their lives. I've never personally seen any parents like this, but they must exist, considering what a constant plot point it is in lower grade books. This is Bessie's situation. Her father took her and her brother away from their mother, to another state, then left them with his sisters. At least the adults have the grace to feel sheepish about it when the truth is finally made known.
September 12, 2020
A fun "mystery" about the Harlem Renaissance for middle grade readers. Light on the mystery, but great dialogue and language to introduce readers to black literature. Having grown up reading books like this, it's no wonder that I seek out coming-of-age stories about Black girls/women in NYC.
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June 17, 2023I was on the edge of my seat for this one because it truly was becoming a mystery for me what was going on. I have known more about the 1920s from the white perspective, so the Harlem Renaissance is something I didn't know as much about. This book makes me want to visit Harlem and see where all the places in the book were (though I am assuming most of them are closed).
November 20, 2014
How is dragging two children screaming and crying from their home and mother in the middle of the night better than just telling them the truth? Worst. Parents. Ever.
2.5 stars.
2.5 stars.
May 28, 2018
My Favorite to date of the American Girl History Mysteries is still:
The Night Flyers by Elizabeth McDavid-Jones
The Night Flyers by Elizabeth McDavid-Jones
February 25, 2022
The adults in this book were seriously messed up.
Pretty much, in the first chapter we find out that the mother is sick. The father orders his children to move to Harlem with him, without saying goodbye and without telling them what’s happening. When they get there he dumps the children with their aunts and then ditches to try to make some money. Their aunts lie repeatedly that their father is just leaving early and coming in late. They even go so far as to write a fake note from their mother saying she is fine, which the children see right through because their mother can barely read or write at all.
Somehow this is all seen as “grown folks business” and of no concern to the children, and lying is supposed to be a form of protection. Apparently, the mother has tuberculosis which is seen as a shameful disease, and the adults are afraid the children would tell if they knew. This is a pretty piss-poor excuse, IMO. Furthermore, this attitude transcends TB, as the aunts are also dishonest when their neighbors get evicted for not being able to afford their rent. Aren’t children supposed to grow and learn from their experiences? By trying to ensure they had no worries, their family members instead ensured that the children lived in a constant state of anxiety, mistrust, and abandonment.
I’m sorry but what the hell. Yes, the adults do admit they are wrong on the very last page, but it’s simply not enough.
The protagonist is also dumb as a rock. I do feel for her, but she jumps to conclusions about everything and spends the entire book assuming that her father is having an affair because she saw him hug a random woman on the street.
Furthermore, I felt the setting was squandered. I was excited for a book set in Harlem, but really all I learned about it was from the Looking Back section. This was really disappointing. I’ve enjoyed this author in the past, because she always attempts to incorporate some unique aspect of history in her stories, but this one was pretty shoddy.
Pretty much, in the first chapter we find out that the mother is sick. The father orders his children to move to Harlem with him, without saying goodbye and without telling them what’s happening. When they get there he dumps the children with their aunts and then ditches to try to make some money. Their aunts lie repeatedly that their father is just leaving early and coming in late. They even go so far as to write a fake note from their mother saying she is fine, which the children see right through because their mother can barely read or write at all.
Somehow this is all seen as “grown folks business” and of no concern to the children, and lying is supposed to be a form of protection. Apparently, the mother has tuberculosis which is seen as a shameful disease, and the adults are afraid the children would tell if they knew. This is a pretty piss-poor excuse, IMO. Furthermore, this attitude transcends TB, as the aunts are also dishonest when their neighbors get evicted for not being able to afford their rent. Aren’t children supposed to grow and learn from their experiences? By trying to ensure they had no worries, their family members instead ensured that the children lived in a constant state of anxiety, mistrust, and abandonment.
I’m sorry but what the hell. Yes, the adults do admit they are wrong on the very last page, but it’s simply not enough.
The protagonist is also dumb as a rock. I do feel for her, but she jumps to conclusions about everything and spends the entire book assuming that her father is having an affair because she saw him hug a random woman on the street.
Furthermore, I felt the setting was squandered. I was excited for a book set in Harlem, but really all I learned about it was from the Looking Back section. This was really disappointing. I’ve enjoyed this author in the past, because she always attempts to incorporate some unique aspect of history in her stories, but this one was pretty shoddy.
May 26, 2022
This is another mystery where adults' lies cause children immense distress, requiring them to take matters into their own hands. The layers of deceit are incredibly over-the-top and unnecessary, and even though I can believe that the aunts would lie out of a misguided desire to protect the children, the father should have known better. How could he think it was okay to practically disappear, after uprooting his children to an unfamiliar city and separating them from their mother without explanation?
Of course, there is an explanation of everything at the end, and the attentive reader can see from the beginning that the mother is sick with a serious communicable illness, but the father's lies, refusal to explain things, absence, and mysterious behavior just seem cruel. The children's overwhelming distress over their parents' perceived separation and their fear that their father is having an affair drives the whole plot, and it's just sad.
This book also mostly wastes its setting in Harlem, with very little time spent out in the city and a lot of name-dropping towards the end. The historical note shares great information, but I had hoped for more from the novel itself. Also, the supernatural elements are unnecessary, since they don't end up going anywhere or affecting the plot.
Of course, there is an explanation of everything at the end, and the attentive reader can see from the beginning that the mother is sick with a serious communicable illness, but the father's lies, refusal to explain things, absence, and mysterious behavior just seem cruel. The children's overwhelming distress over their parents' perceived separation and their fear that their father is having an affair drives the whole plot, and it's just sad.
This book also mostly wastes its setting in Harlem, with very little time spent out in the city and a lot of name-dropping towards the end. The historical note shares great information, but I had hoped for more from the novel itself. Also, the supernatural elements are unnecessary, since they don't end up going anywhere or affecting the plot.
January 8, 2024
I was intrigued by what was going to happen next, and I was surprised by one particular moment that happened in the book because of the year it was written (spoilers will be in at the bottom). I also enjoyed the descriptions of Harlem, New York, and the stores that were in it during the time. It felt like you were there in the story. What I didn't like was that this could have all been resolved if the parents told their two children the reason why they were moving to the North in the first place. I also didn't like how the story ends (spoilers at the bottom).
Overall, it was a nice read and would recommend it to others, but personally, I wouldn't reread it again.
** SPOILERS **
1) Bessie's grandmother (she passed away before the story began) admitted that she was wrong for not giving much of a childhood to her eldest daughter (Aunt Esther) because she was forced to take of her younger siblings.
2) Bessie, Eddie, her father, and mother are not reunited at the end of the book. It only tells the reader that her father went back to the South to look for her. You, as the reader, don't even know if she's alive or dead because she has tuberculosis. I guess it is up to you to decide if she's alive or not.
Overall, it was a nice read and would recommend it to others, but personally, I wouldn't reread it again.
** SPOILERS **
1) Bessie's grandmother (she passed away before the story began) admitted that she was wrong for not giving much of a childhood to her eldest daughter (Aunt Esther) because she was forced to take of her younger siblings.
2) Bessie, Eddie, her father, and mother are not reunited at the end of the book. It only tells the reader that her father went back to the South to look for her. You, as the reader, don't even know if she's alive or dead because she has tuberculosis. I guess it is up to you to decide if she's alive or not.
July 11, 2022
Infidelity seems like a weird topic for a kids book. Mystery was bland and not very interesting. Harlem was wasted as a location and I don’t feel like enough history was included. Absolutely no resolution as the parents are never seen again. Papa doesn’t ever explain to Bessie about her mother being ill. All information is secondhand. Gets two stars because of the emotional scene between Bessie and her mom and grandmother’s funeral.
December 1, 2014
What is the Dark Tower and where is Bessie's father disappearing to every night?
A look at a period of history usually ignored in fiction, gritty and realistic, while at the same time engaging. I couldn't wait to see where this story was going. Ms. Coleman is fast becoming one of my favorite authors.
A look at a period of history usually ignored in fiction, gritty and realistic, while at the same time engaging. I couldn't wait to see where this story was going. Ms. Coleman is fast becoming one of my favorite authors.
October 28, 2018
I was really surprised that Evelyn Coleman's excellent stories were published by American Girl - which put out books to help sell their dolls and doll clothes. Coleman creates strong girl protagonists and her books credit African Americans on the left for their role in history. I highly recommend this and the other book of hers that I read, "Circle of Fire" - a very timely anti-KKK story. Her novels break down the color wall (invisible to most white readers) constructed by the iconic Nancy Drew mystery series.
February 18, 2025
Bessie is forced to move from her small town to Harlem. What does her father do for work? She snoops and tries to find out. Not very convincing story line. More emphasis is given to description of how great Harlem was. Color cover is okay but interior black and white illustrations just so so.
December 30, 2017
Interesting, but I prefer the stories where the girls aren't rewarded for disobeying their parents.
May 11, 2018
a father takes a sister and brother away from their mother and they are trying to find out why. i cried during the book and i rarely do that it even in movies. this is my favorite book now
August 4, 2018
So mysterious
May 21, 2020
Fun mystery and great read!
February 13, 2024
Good story
March 26, 2024
Wanted to re-read a book from my childhood. Great mystery.
March 26, 2025
While not a super big mystery, the setting is wonderful. Great storytelling, world building.
June 25, 2025
It was a very good book but unfortunately the dedication page right at the beginning spoils a big part of the story, which took away a lot of the enjoyment of reading it
February 17, 2016
The title sounds like it's from the Hardy Boy series of mysteries, but it's not. It happens in 1928 and revolves around Bessie Coulter, a young black girl who has moved with her father and younger brother to Harlem. The problem is their mother has been left behind, and as events unfold it looks to Bessie like her father is going to fool around with another woman and leave their mother.
This leads Bessie to try and find out exactly what is going on, even if it involves going into a potentially dangerous area of town and trying to pass herself off as an adult.
It's an interesting story and includes a historical section on Harlem. Worth reading.
This leads Bessie to try and find out exactly what is going on, even if it involves going into a potentially dangerous area of town and trying to pass herself off as an adult.
It's an interesting story and includes a historical section on Harlem. Worth reading.
July 16, 2012
Very good book. It was a little hard to picture some of the people in my mind like I could in the other books of the series, but it was still worth my time. (P.S. – A great ending!)
August 20, 2012
It was all right. 8+.
December 6, 2021
The use of description and supernatural elements was a bit heavy for my taste, especially since the supernatural parts really didn't advance the plot.
August 9, 2014
Didn't even finish it!
April 13, 2022
Another great story in this series - this one touched me because it upsets me when adults lie to children and it causes anxiety and fear. Sweet story though.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews