The Curse of Ravenscourt: A Samantha Mystery

American Girl Samantha Mysteries #1

by Sarah Masters Buckey, Jean Paul Tibbles (Illustrator)

Samantha is excited about her family's stay at a fancy new "apartment-hotel" - until she learns there's a terrible curse on the building's owner! As soon as Samantha arrives, one thing after another goes alarmingly wrong. Is it the curse - or is something else scaring the residents from Ravenscourt?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical, Juvenile

181 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2005

About the author

Sarah Masters Buckey was raised in New Jersey and lived in Texas for 15 years. Sarah was nominated for the Agatha Award in 2008 for A Thief in the Theater and in 2005 for The Curse of Ravenscourt. She was nominated for an Edgar Award in 2007 for The Stolen Sapphire.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads]

"We'll only be at Ravenscourt for a few weeks," Samantha said, trying to cheer Nellie up. "Aunt Cornelia says it's very nice."

Following the events of the main series and the short stories, Samantha is finally part of a large family, just like she's always dreamed of.

She lives with her Uncle Gard his wife, Aunt Cornelia, in their home in New York City. She even has three new sisters that were adopted by her uncle and aunt (Nellie, Jenny and Bridget).

"But with four children, the family's elegant home had begun to seem a little cramped."

Renovations must be done and the adults don't want to try to live in the house during construction.

Luckily a new building - Ravenscourt - has just opened up! It looks beautiful, majestic and promises to be the height of luxury but Nellie isn't quite so sure...

"It's just that I've seen ravens like that before. They always bring bad luck."

And when they do enter the building, they are blown away by the elegant chandeliers, the marble floors, and new-fangled elevators.

But Nellie is right. Something scary lurks beneath the shiny, new surface - a curse! There's scratching in the walls, strange things happen at night, and Aunt Cornelia seems to be getting more and more exhausted.

Is Ravenscourt truly cursed? Or is there something even more sinister afoot??

"Samantha sat still in the darkness, listening. Then she heard it again - a soft scrabbling that sounded like fingers grasping for a hold."

OKAY. I'll admit it. I went in with super low expectations.

Yes, I enjoyed the main series for Samantha. And yes, the short stories were pretty good. Annnnnnd yes, I have to admit, the craft book and cook book for the Samantha series were pretty darn good as well.

But surely , they can't also write a halfway decent mystery novel set in her universe...turns out I was right.

It wasn't halfway decent...it was full-way decent.

Seriously. What is up with this doll company and why are they so bound and determined to make these amazing books?

Okay, backing up a bit...this was a really good mystery for kids. It had all the right elements - plucky protagonist, spooky secrets and plenty of twists and turns.

I was really impressed by the emotional depth shown in this story. The author could have just focused on the mystery element but she took time to flesh out the changing relationship between Samantha and her new sisters as well as the emotional upheaval that all the girls felt.

Overall, if you are looking for a kids mystery - this one is fabulous!

More reviews in the Samantha-verse

Main Series:
Meet Samantha - ★★★★☆
Samantha Learns a Lesson - ★★★★★
Samantha's Surprise - ★★★★☆
Happy Birthday, Samantha - ★★★★☆
Samantha Saves the Day - ★★★★★
Changes for Samantha - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Boxed Set - ★★★★☆

Best Friend Book:
Nellie's Promise - ★★★★★

Short Stories:
Samantha's Winter Party - ★★★★★
Samantha Saves the Wedding - ★★★★☆
Samantha and the Missing Pearls - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Blue Bicycle - ★★★★★
Samantha's Special Talent - ★★★☆☆
Samantha's Short Story Collection - ★★★★☆

Mystery Books (My Order):
The Curse of Ravenscourt - ★★★★★
The Stolen Sapphire - ★★★★☆
Clue in the Castle Tower - ★★★★☆
Danger in Paris - ★★★☆☆
The Cry of the Loon - ★★★★☆

Additional Historical and Activity Books:
American Girl Cross-stitch - ★★☆☆☆
The American Girls Cookbook - ★★★★★
The American Girls Party Book - ★★★★★
Everything I Need to Know I Learned From American Girl - ★★★☆☆
The Making of American Girl - ★★★★★
Minute Mysteries - ★★★★☆
Minute Mysteries 2 - ★★★★☆
The Official American Girl Cookbook - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Cookbook - ★★★★★
Samantha's Cooking Studio - ★★★★★
Samantha's Craft Book - ★★★★★
Samantha's Friendship Fun - ★★★☆☆
Samantha's Ocean Liner Adventure - ★★★★★
Samantha's Theater Kit - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Valentine Crafts - ★★☆☆☆
Samantha's Wedding Memories - ★★☆☆☆
Samantha's World: A Girl's-eye View of the Turn of the Century - ★★★★★
The Titanic (American Girl: Real Stories From My Time) - ★★★☆☆
Welcome to Samantha's World · 1904 - ★★★★★

Beforever (Re-Release of Main Series in mid 2010s):
Manners & Mischief - ★★☆☆☆
Lost and Found - ★★★☆☆

Abridged Version (Re-Release of Main Series in 2020s):
Samantha: The Gift - ★★☆☆☆
Samantha: Lost and Found - ★★★★☆

Beginner Reader & Picture Books:
Happy Birthday! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆
Happy Holidays! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★★
Making a Difference (Little Golden Book) - ★★★☆☆
My First American Girl Boxed Set - ★★★★☆
Samantha Helps a Friend (Step Into Reading) - ★★★☆☆
Time for School! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks))]

This had a good ominous tone for middle grade readers. I loved the setting of NYC in the early 1900s.

[Babbity Kate]

if we could stop making Nellie sad please and thank you???

[Katie]

The American Girl Mysteries didn't exist yet when I was the target age, so it was fun to take a further adventure with characters I loved as a kid. To the adult reader, many of the plot twists are fairly obvious, but Buckey did surprise me with the identity of the culprit!

More Samantha babble:
Meet Samantha | Samantha Learns a Lesson | Samantha's Surprise | Happy Birthday, Samantha | Samantha Saves the Day | Changes for Samantha

Nellie's Promise

Samantha's Winter Party | Samantha and the Missing Pearls | Samantha Saves the Wedding | Samantha's Blue Bicycle | Samantha's Special Talent | Samantha's Short Story Collection

The Curse of Ravenscourt | The Stolen Sapphire | The Cry of the Loon | Clue in the Castle Tower

The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha

[Abigail McKenna]

this was one of my faves when I was 11-or-so, and tbh, it still holds up. Nellie and Samantha's friendship makes my heart so full.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro)]

Samantha and her adopted sister Nelly go with Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia to live in an apartment in New York for a few weeks. The Ravenscourt Apartments are the height of luxury in the big city, but everything keeps going wrong in the building. The furnace breaks down, rats get into the walls, and a service elevator breaks and falls down the shaft. Some people think that the owner, Mr. Raven, must be cursed because he is such a harsh landlord to poor tenants in other buildings that he owns. Samantha and Nelly begin to investigate the strange occurrences around the building, determined to prove that the curse it not real, and someone must be targeting Mr. Raven.

I loved this fun Samantha mystery so much! Samantha has always been my favorite American Girl since I was a little kid, and it was such a delight to revisit her world with some new stories.

The mystery is intriguing with plenty of red herrings and mysterious clues. The writing is perfect for the target age group, but also enjoyable for adults to read. I loved learning more about this time period in history.

This book has been screened on the Screen It First website for some mildly sensitive content. https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-cu...

[Vee Precourt]

I love these books they are so good

[Panda Incognito]

This was one of my favorite American Girl mysteries when I was a child, and I also enjoyed it as an adult. It has a few glaring plot holes, like why on earth the girls went to visit a tenement when they had chicken pox germs from their younger sisters, but for the most part, it's a very believable adventure and engaging mystery.

I had forgotten most of this story. I deeply remembered the part involving the elevator, and I remembered something about tenements and a curse, but I wondered if I was confusing the latter parts with material from the Little Colonel series, particularly Mary Ware's Promised Land. These books do share some significant plot points, and it is a great compliment to this historical fiction novel that I could mentally file it with something written in a contemporary time period. I enjoyed revisiting this and seeing how many elements were similar.

This mystery covers a lot of different historical details and social issues, and does so in an engaging way without being preachy. I also appreciate the trauma-informed portrayal of Nellie's struggles to feel secure in her new family, and even though many of the plot elements in this book could have been solved easily with better communication, the core mystery and various subplots are all satisfying.

[Sarah]

Could some of the issues in this book have been resolved by two characters communicating with one another? Yes.

Was I thoroughly entertained? Also yes.

[Little Seal]

I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit, but not surprised since I am a Samantha girl at heart.

[Emily Beckett]

This book was great. Samantha and Nellie have to find out if Mr Ravens is cursed. Aunt Cornelia battled a man on the roof with an Umbrella 😱. Bridget and Jenny got Chicken pocks. An elevator crashed but nobody was on it. There were rats in the wall 🐀 gross.

[Rose]

I know a children’s book is almost always gonna wrap things up neatly and happily even if they’re dealing with complicated issues but still I had to laugh at the idea that you could convince a slumlord to improve his tenants’ living conditions by having his daughter ask him nicely

[Elise • valkyrieslanding]

Another great Samantha mystery! This appeared to be the first mystery in the series and they definitely should be read in order to avoid spoilers. The mystery was interesting and a bit spooky too. I loved Aunt Cornelia in this one.

[Rachel B]

#1 of Samantha's mysteries in my opinion. This book was one of my favourite American Girl mysteries from my childhood (I reread this one, The Stolen Sapphire, Addy's Secrets on Society Hill, and Molly's A Spy on the Home Front many times). I was delighted to find I enjoyed it just as much as an adult. The mystery is pretty easy to figure out if you're an adult (Cornelia left because she's pregnant and doesn't want to get chicken pox, someone is deliberately making things go wrong in the building on Mr. Enderby's orders), but the exact configuration of events (Mary and Mr. Winthrop being the culprits) was a surprise, but also completely logical (it makes sense that Mary is willing to help bring down Mr. Raven after living in one of his poorly managed tenement houses). I liked how all the different pieces (e.g. Samantha finding out Mary used to live in Mr. Raven's tenement but then lied about it) connected.

There's also a logical reason for Samantha and Nellie to investigate the strange occurrences, specifically that they are living in this building, Bridget and Jenny could have been killed when the service elevator crashed, and there are no safe adults around to help them (Gertrude keeps shooing them away, Aunt Cornelia has left, and Uncle Gard is away on business). Althoughhhhh, it doesn't seem like a great idea to leave these four little girls basically alone in this apartment, especially when two of them have the chicken pox, and for Uncle Gard to tell Samantha not to trouble Cornelia with anything. Like, they are in a situation where it makes a lot of sense to get adults involved, although I understand why Samantha doesn't.

At the same time, a lot of her and Nellie's heartache would be solved if they simply TALKED to Cornelia and asked her what was going on, and I hope at that point she would have explained to them that she's pregnant and is worried about getting chicken pox and thereby harming the baby, and she isn't leaving because she doesn't love or want the girls anymore. But also, she should have anticipated that the girls would be worried about this and communicated proactively rather than waiting for Samantha or Nellie to come to her...even though I can also understand in 1906 why a woman in the first few months of a pregnancy wouldn't want to announce it to everyone, given the risks of miscarriage. (Side note: I hope Gertrude, Mary, and Mrs. Calloway have already had the chicken pox, otherwise I would be side eyeing Gard and Cornelia for not caring if their servants get sick, especially since it's noted in this book that chicken pox can be much more serious for adults than for kids.)

Anyway, I liked the detail with which the hotel itself was described; I felt like I learned a lot about how apartment hotels (for the wealthy) would have been set up in this period, like how the rooms would have been looked and also about elevators. I found the historical note about elevators especially interesting. I also like that Samantha, Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny all feel like themselves in this book (no character assassination or generic "girl detective" characterization), and that the book delves a lot more into their emotional lives. It feels like an excellent follow up to Nellie's Promise where Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny have recently been adopted by Uncle Gard Aunt Cornelia and are still adjusting to their new lives.

It made a lot of sense that Nellie and Jenny would be nervous about moving to the hotel (Nellie because she's lived in apartments before and has had negative experiences in them, Jenny because she's afraid they won't be coming back, and both of them worrying this might mean something permanent is changing in their new family). I also like how Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny react differently to things than Samantha does based on their history. For example, Samantha is impressed by the elegant safety elevator, while while Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny are fearful because they've never been in an elevator before, while Samantha has. This book gets their characters right! They aren't just generic sidekicks the way, say, Rhonda and Lydia are pretty interchangeable in the Caroline mysteries.

And Samantha and Nellie are both themselves throughout the books! Like when Mr. Winthrop says the servants' quarters don't need as much sunlight, Samantha immediately thinks the servants would enjoy sunlight just as much as anyone else. That's so quintessentially Samantha and I love it! And I love Nellie continuing her path as a teller of hard truths, even to people who don't want to hear it. I love her telling Eloise Raven about the tenements he owns, "The people who live in those buildings do the best they can, but Mr. Raven is a hard landlord. I once lived across from one of your father’s buildings. Whole families lived in rooms smaller than this. There were always rats in that building." I love that part of Nellie's character is that she tells the truth, even to people who are more privileged and might not want to hear it, and I love Samantha supporting her and telling her she's brave.

It made sense to me that Eloise was initially resistant and didn't want to believe Nellie, but I was also impressed by her thinking about what Nellie had said and deciding she wanted to go see for herself. And that makes sense with her character too, since we already know she was impressed by Aunt Cornelia coming to her school and speaking about women's suffrage; we therefore can infer that she cares about progressive causes and social reform. This was a subtle and clever way to set up her personality so that her actions would make sense later. And her actions seem very aligned with what I love best about Samantha's own character (being told something by Nellie, recognizing what she doesn't know, taking steps to learn more, revising her opinion based on what she's learned).

I really liked the scene of Eloise and Nellie and Samantha going to the tenement house and meeting the Kildany children. Samantha thinking about the little girl named Jenny at the tenement house and comparing her to Nellie's sister Jenny, and hoping Tenement Jenny has enough to eat and is somewhere warm like Nellie's sister Jenny, was very poignant. And I love that once again, Samantha's natural instinct is generosity. She sees that Tenement Jenny is hungry and cold and has lice and she immediately offers her peppermint candy to Jenny. Eloise's natural instinct also seems to be generosity (she literally empties her purse and gives all her money to Tenement Jenny's sister).

I'm a bit mixed on how much moral praise to give Eloise and Samantha in this situation, since it isn't really a hardship for them to give the poor children money or candy; they can just go get more for themselves. It's very different than, say, Addy giving away her last pennies to the Freedman's Fund rather than getting the kerosene lamp her family desperately needs, or Caroline being willing to sink her beloved skiff in order to prevent the British from capturing the American supply ship. Like if you're wealthy and walking into a home where children are literally hungry and cold and sick, you would be a monster not to give them what you have. So Eloise giving her coins kind of seems like the moral floor.

At the same time, the fact that she did it immediately without a second thought does say something positive about her character, and perhaps it's unfair to judge her generosity as less morally weighty simply because she has so much; in that case, how could a privileged person like Eloise or Samantha EVER do something morally good? I guess we've seen Samantha give up things she genuinely does care about, like giving Nellie her beloved doll Lydia, and risking social ostracism by staying Nellie's friend and also by changing her speech about factories. Even those things pale in comparison to Kit or Addy or Caroline who are in genuinely more dire situations, but perhaps the question is how much someone gives proportionate to the opportunities they have to give. Whenever Samantha notices someone who has less, she acts immediately.

Anyway, Eloise's character once again impressed me when she asked Nellie what she would do to fix things up at the tenement if she was in charge; she recognizes that Nellie knows things she doesn't and takes her advice seriously. And I like that she immediately takes steps to make Nellie's proposed changes happen. It must be so hard for Eloise to realize how awful her father is, but she doesn't stay in a defensive crouch; she immediately orients to what needs to be done and how she can make those things happen. I respect that a LOT.

And I like once she has the knowledge (e.g. about her father installing new safety elevators for guests but installing the old-style less safe elevators from a building someone was tearing down for "servants and cargo"), she immediately recognizes the injustice and gets the problem solved. I loved her saying the safety elevators need to be installed for the staff too and until then, the staff will use the guest elevators and shutting down any objections.

And I liked that at the end, she talked to her father and convinced him to fix up his buildings, and I loved her asking Aunt Cornelia's advice on how to go about this the best way. I might say rich Aunt Cornelia might not be the person with the MOST knowledge of that topic (Nellie is right there!), but I still appreciated her approaching with intellectual humility, recognizing there was a lot she didn't know, and asking for advice and guidance.

The final reveal of who did it was satisfying in terms of putting the pieces all together in a logical way, but the ending with Aunt Cornelia rescuing them and Martin actually being a detective was very deus ex machina. But whatever, I'm not too mad about it. I liked that Nellie was able to express her worries about Aunt Cornelia being tired of her and her sisters, and that Gard and Cornelia were both able to reassure the girls. I loved getting to see the layout of their new bedrooms and play room, and that the surprise of the baby was revealed by a third bedroom existing. And I loved Uncle Gard saying, "We don’t know what the baby will be. All we know is that we’ll never love her—or him—more than the four beautiful daughters we already have." I love that all of the children have a loving family and a home that's all theirs. The scene with Nellie crying was so emotional and her getting the support and reassurance she needed was so lovely.

I thought this book was excellent, and I loved the historical note at the end. I'd give this one 4.5 stars and happily include it as one of my favourites, both of the mystery books and of Samantha's books. It's just as good as her main series, and better in my opinion than her fourth and fifth main series books!

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter]

Samantha has just moved in to the new Ravenscourt hotel apartments while her family home undergoes renovations. Soon she and Nellie learn about a curse on the hotel’s owner, and troublesome events begin to happen. The girls decide to solve the mystery even if it could be dangerous. However Nellie and Samantha also have a few friendship issues to work out long the way, such as trust/abandonment and jealousy.

I’ve recently reread all of Samantha’s original six books, and then decided to read this book which is currently offered for free on the American Girl website. I have to say I enjoyed this one better than almost all of the original books. I liked the sense of mystery and the spooky mood, it would be a great October read for 9-11 year olds. I did think that the Aunt Cornelia piece of the mystery I had figured out immediately, but it might not be as apparent to the target age demographic.

The Eloise storyline was a little unbelievable in a way similar to a Grandmary in the original books. Her change from rich heiress to reformer happens in an instant. I understand it’s because of constraints in how much plot could be dedicated to it, but I’d like to see it done in a more believable way, maybe a character who was already questioning the status quo rather than one starting at zero.

[Hazel]

this book was NOT the best. NOT my favorite. I would not suggest if for kids my age, 12

[Christina]

When I was younger, the American Girl mysteries were some of my favorite books to read, and since a few of them were made free on the AG website, I decided to read this industrial revolution mystery.
Young Samantha Parkington, Aunt Cornelia, Uncle Gard, and her newly adopted sisters move to a brand new apartment building downtown as their home is remodeled. However, as soon as the girls arrive, they soon realize that something is awry and learn that Ravenscourt may be under a curse that was placed on the owner, Mr. Ravenscroft, for his neglectful and greedy ways.
This mystery is an excellent read, and for the young children who read it, they receive wonderful theme such as perseverance and honesty that each contributes to the resolve of the central conflict, showcasing the importance of these themes in real life and how important it is to maintain them in all circumstances.
What is also quite important, is the presentation of multiple social issues that young girls can still see pertaining to society today, as although it does give an accurate representation of its era, topics such as class dichotomy, unfit living conditions, and speaking up for what one believes is right are still useful and important today.
The plot was well suited to the age group that it is aimed at, and the only complaint I do have is that it seems as though because Samantha and her family are so isolated, aside from Eloise, the mystery takes hold very slowly and never truly seems to be of interest to anyone, other than the children, until the end. Likewise, I do think that it could have benefited from a greater deal of suspense being built up before the climax on the roof.
I would highly recommend this story, and I believe that it is most suitable for ages 7 and up.

[Joey-Susan]

This was a very interesting mystery. Samantha and her family had to move to a hotel and Nellie was terrified of being there because the man that ran it was cursed. But being there Samantha realises the curse may be real as she starts to uncover all the strange goings on.

One thing I loved about it was that Samantha was so determined to solve everything and find another solution that may not be the curse. She was scared at times but always carried on investigating. When Bridget and Jenny get sick and only want Nellie she steps back kindly even though she wanted to help, i loved that Samantha was mature in that situation.

The mystery itself wasn't as easy as I expected it to be, I sometimes find that page one I know everything however with this one I didn't at all solve it right away. I had my own suspicions of who was causing trouble but it progressed as it went through really well.

[Becky]

Randomly picked this from the library shelf and read it. I thought it was enjoyable for an older kids book. Has an element of mystery and a little suspense, but not too scary for kids who scare easily, and has a happy ending. I'll be interested to see how my kids like it.

Based on this book, I'd be interested to read the others in the series (when I'm in the mood for a quick read youth book), or to encourage my kids to read them.

[Andrea]

I liked some of the historical details, like apartment buildings, tenements, cars and horses being in the road. There is a lot in there that could be discussed with young readers. The mystery and investigation follows the expected tropes for young readers. I liked that there were reasons for the adults to not be around. Overall it was a nice little mystery for young readers.

[Caity]

This is a fun mystery I particularly loved how the author tied in the historic elements. She did a particularly great job showing what life was like for people like Samantha but also for the working class.

[Katie Young]

This fits into Samantha's world pretty naturally. The setting/plot still explores class issues and modernity in a way that I will forever be here for; however, Cornelia would not have left the girls alone with so little transparency (even to safeguard an Edwards fetus! Squee!).

[Harper Mahlburg]

Harper age 8: Danger at the Zoo Visiting the Cincinnati Zoo to write a story for her column, Kit Kittridge stumbles into some strange doings in the monkey house. Her reporter's instincts tell her that she's onto something. (Read to find out)

[Grace]

best book ever by the way the maniger's ascent is fake!

[Kristen]

Fun books for ages 6-10 I'd say. They're typically very "American Revolution" heavy but The Curse of Ravenscourt is just a good easy mystery for a kids to read.

[Shannon]

3.5*

[Grace Lynch]

Such a fun mystery for young readers!

[Gracie Sadler]

This was not one of my favorites of the American girl mysteries.

[Alex]

The "Looking Back" section on elevators was terrifying!

[Kristen]

Ah, to be a wealthy orphan in the care of Gardner and Cornelia Edwards.