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Whispers from the Dead
For fans of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, and R.L. Stine comes Whispers from the Dead from four-time Edgar Allen Poe Young Adult Mystery Award winner Joan Lowery Nixon.
Only Sarah senses the horror.
The minute she steps through the doorway of her family’s new home, Sarah feels a smothering cold mist, and hears the echo of a scream and a heartbreaking whisper in Spanish, “Help me!”
Sarah feels compelled to find out who is trying to reach her. But can she uncover the mysteries of the past before terror strikes again?
Only Sarah senses the horror.
The minute she steps through the doorway of her family’s new home, Sarah feels a smothering cold mist, and hears the echo of a scream and a heartbreaking whisper in Spanish, “Help me!”
Sarah feels compelled to find out who is trying to reach her. But can she uncover the mysteries of the past before terror strikes again?
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1989
42 people are currently reading
687 people want to read
About the author
Joan Lowery Nixon
188 books484 followersAuthor of more than one hundred books, Joan Lowery Nixon is the only writer to have won four Edgar Allan Poe Awards for Juvenile Mysteries (and been nominated several other times) from the Mystery Writers of America. Creating contemporary teenage characters who have both a personal problem and a mystery to solve, Nixon captured the attention of legions of teenage readers since the publication of her first YA novel more than twenty years ago. In addition to mystery/suspense novels, she wrote nonfiction and fiction for children and middle graders, as well as several short stories. Nixon was the first person to write novels for teens about the orphan trains of the nineteenth century. She followed those with historical novels about Ellis Island and, more recently for younger readers, Colonial Williamsburg. Joan Lowery Nixon died on June 28, 2003—a great loss for all of us.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
March 26, 2018
This was the book that made me into the reader today. I read it in 8th grade and I LOVED it. I feel in love with reading. Especially mystery. To this day I can't pass up a good thriller. I have read all of Mrs. Nixon's books and I have loved them all. She passed away in 2003.
November 25, 2021
Surprisingly satisfying, even if it seems that 90s kids have no real sense of situational danger, considering we were a generation raised on #strangerdanger
March 27, 2015
Talking To The Dead:
Whispers From the Dead by Joan Lowery Nixon tells the story of a 16 soon to be 17 year old girl, Sarah. Sarah goes swimming at a lake with her friends and almost ends up dead. After her near death experience she starts to hear voices, voices no one else hears. She’s the only one who seems to be able to sense the horror. Soon after, her father gets a new job in Houston forcing them to move. The minute she steps through the door of her family’s new house she is smothered by a cold mist and hears a heartbreaking, desperate ‘ayudame’. Sarah feels compelled to find out what this voice wants from her after seeing the blood splattered walls of what seems to be a murder.
If only Sarah knew what you do now:
Rule #1: Know Your Surroundings.
When talking to the dead, make sure you have something solid to lean on if you get wrapped up in a so called vision. “...light streamed through the window next to the front door to yellow walls, spreading its glow across a spindly, antique table I’d never seen before. On it, lying on its side, was an miliar crystal vase of early spring sweet peas, spilled and dripping onto white marblelike tiles...as I moved closer to the railing, bent over, and looked straight down. Directly below me, under the brown-red splattered walls, lay a pool of blood.”
Rule #2: Know Who Your Friends Are.
You’re going to have a tough road ahead of you, and many challenges will be thrown your way. But what else would you expect? You are after all talking to the dead. To some you are not mentally stable, but to others you are intriguing. It is important to keep a sense of self when going through the experience, but remember you must be able to pull out of the nightmare or your life could be put at risk.
Rule #3: Confront Your Fears.
You're never going to get anything done if you don’t do anything. You can not be afraid of the voices, they can’t hurt you. It’s only a voice in your head. You don’t know what you’ll learn from them unless you overcome your fear of the voices. You are the only one holding yourself back from the truth.
Rule #4: This Isn’t Over.
It’s doesn’t until you understand what the voice has been trying to tell you. In this case, there’s more to the story than the police suspected; and when you try and tell them you seemed either absolutely crazy, or just plain wacko trying to tell a police officer that they did their job wrong. You just have to figure everything out for yourself. Get proof, have evidence then go to the police, just don’t get yourself killed.
Rule #5: Breath Over Death.
“...I pulled my hand away and dived deep, enjoying the pale green water as it slid around my body. A school of minnows silver-streaked across my path, leaving speckles of reflected light in their wake. I was alone in a beautiful, silent world that belonged to me, until my lungs ached for air and I flip-flopped, shooting up toward the surface of the water...he slammed against me, driving me downward through the icy water of the lake into a tangle of vines that twisted around my ankles. My head was a fireball of pain, and my lungs burned with such agony, I thought they’d explode as I struggled desperately to get free.”
Rule #6: Love yourself before falling for someone else.
Remember reality comes before your fantasies. Keep your mind clear so you don’t see someone for someone they aren't. They may be well disguised under a mask or with dyed hair but they will always be the person they were before; a cold-hearted killer.
Rule #7: If You Can’t Beat Them, Turn Them In.
Accept help from the police, family, or friends before allowing your pride to overcome you. Not every problem can be solved alone. Knowing too much can make you a target. Strength comes from alliances. The ending you wish for comes at a price, be prepared to make compromises.
Whispers From the Dead by Joan Lowery Nixon tells the story of a 16 soon to be 17 year old girl, Sarah. Sarah goes swimming at a lake with her friends and almost ends up dead. After her near death experience she starts to hear voices, voices no one else hears. She’s the only one who seems to be able to sense the horror. Soon after, her father gets a new job in Houston forcing them to move. The minute she steps through the door of her family’s new house she is smothered by a cold mist and hears a heartbreaking, desperate ‘ayudame’. Sarah feels compelled to find out what this voice wants from her after seeing the blood splattered walls of what seems to be a murder.
If only Sarah knew what you do now:
Rule #1: Know Your Surroundings.
When talking to the dead, make sure you have something solid to lean on if you get wrapped up in a so called vision. “...light streamed through the window next to the front door to yellow walls, spreading its glow across a spindly, antique table I’d never seen before. On it, lying on its side, was an miliar crystal vase of early spring sweet peas, spilled and dripping onto white marblelike tiles...as I moved closer to the railing, bent over, and looked straight down. Directly below me, under the brown-red splattered walls, lay a pool of blood.”
Rule #2: Know Who Your Friends Are.
You’re going to have a tough road ahead of you, and many challenges will be thrown your way. But what else would you expect? You are after all talking to the dead. To some you are not mentally stable, but to others you are intriguing. It is important to keep a sense of self when going through the experience, but remember you must be able to pull out of the nightmare or your life could be put at risk.
Rule #3: Confront Your Fears.
You're never going to get anything done if you don’t do anything. You can not be afraid of the voices, they can’t hurt you. It’s only a voice in your head. You don’t know what you’ll learn from them unless you overcome your fear of the voices. You are the only one holding yourself back from the truth.
Rule #4: This Isn’t Over.
It’s doesn’t until you understand what the voice has been trying to tell you. In this case, there’s more to the story than the police suspected; and when you try and tell them you seemed either absolutely crazy, or just plain wacko trying to tell a police officer that they did their job wrong. You just have to figure everything out for yourself. Get proof, have evidence then go to the police, just don’t get yourself killed.
Rule #5: Breath Over Death.
“...I pulled my hand away and dived deep, enjoying the pale green water as it slid around my body. A school of minnows silver-streaked across my path, leaving speckles of reflected light in their wake. I was alone in a beautiful, silent world that belonged to me, until my lungs ached for air and I flip-flopped, shooting up toward the surface of the water...he slammed against me, driving me downward through the icy water of the lake into a tangle of vines that twisted around my ankles. My head was a fireball of pain, and my lungs burned with such agony, I thought they’d explode as I struggled desperately to get free.”
Rule #6: Love yourself before falling for someone else.
Remember reality comes before your fantasies. Keep your mind clear so you don’t see someone for someone they aren't. They may be well disguised under a mask or with dyed hair but they will always be the person they were before; a cold-hearted killer.
Rule #7: If You Can’t Beat Them, Turn Them In.
Accept help from the police, family, or friends before allowing your pride to overcome you. Not every problem can be solved alone. Knowing too much can make you a target. Strength comes from alliances. The ending you wish for comes at a price, be prepared to make compromises.
July 14, 2012
Sarah has just moved to Houston thanks to her father's new promotion. She's leaving behind friends who think she's a freak since she claims that a shadow has been following her. A shadow that only she can see. After almost drowning, Sarah has a connection with the dead which proves to be detrimental in helping her make sense of the murder that occurred in her new home two years ago.
Like all of Joan Lowery Nixon's leads, Sarah is a strong female who's battling her own inner demons and fears. She suffers from panic attacks near water thanks to her near-death experience and she's hurt after her friends abandoning her. Nixon crafts a short murder mystery with the twist of Sarah's ability to communicate with the dead. This book goes fast, right up to the ending.
Unlike most murder mysteries, Sarah is quick on the uptake, figuring things out almost as quickly as I did--a refreshing change. She's joined by her new friend Dee Dee, a relentless gossip, and mysterious boy named Tony whom she likes.
A nice light story to fill in the gaps in your lazy summer days. Nixon delivers an enjoyable who-done-it. I read this as a way to transition from one long book to another--which is probably the best way to read a novel like this.
Like all of Joan Lowery Nixon's leads, Sarah is a strong female who's battling her own inner demons and fears. She suffers from panic attacks near water thanks to her near-death experience and she's hurt after her friends abandoning her. Nixon crafts a short murder mystery with the twist of Sarah's ability to communicate with the dead. This book goes fast, right up to the ending.
Unlike most murder mysteries, Sarah is quick on the uptake, figuring things out almost as quickly as I did--a refreshing change. She's joined by her new friend Dee Dee, a relentless gossip, and mysterious boy named Tony whom she likes.
A nice light story to fill in the gaps in your lazy summer days. Nixon delivers an enjoyable who-done-it. I read this as a way to transition from one long book to another--which is probably the best way to read a novel like this.
January 26, 2025
A pretty decent ghost story with a mystery and a little twist. Clark Kent has no chance against this spunky teen protagonist!
Not big on the whole "illegal alien" thing going on, and the broken English is a bit much, but over all a pretty good spooky pre-teen novel.
Not big on the whole "illegal alien" thing going on, and the broken English is a bit much, but over all a pretty good spooky pre-teen novel.
March 23, 2023
This is the first time Nixon has implemented a real supernatural element. After Sarah nearly dies in the prologue - she (somewhat randomly) has the ability to sense the dead. It comes in handy as she moves into a new house - and can sense the presence of a woman who died there.
I did remember this book's set-up, and at first worried that it was going to be super hokey. It really wasn't - and honestly, while on the simpler side, was a decent, spooky read.
The main character Sarah isn't nearly as irritating as most of these heroines tend to be in these books. Sure - she still does some super dumb stuff -- like withholding important information from her parents and the police that would have solved the crime rather quickly. But JLN wanted to keep up the tension in the book, so she relied on this crutch to keep the plot going.
The thing about this book is that fairly early on any seasoned mystery reader can probably tell where the book is headed. Was it intentional? Or was the fact that these books are essentially written for 13yos make it seem a little easier than a standard mystery. The interesting thing is that (to me) knowing where it was going ramped up the tension considerably. This book is great with keeping up with a spooky atmosphere and an unsettling feeling through out. Part of it is the ghost elements (though these aren't as frequent - this isn't a solid ghost story) but a lot of it is the discomfort of knowing what Sarah seems to be oblivious to.
The other nice thing about this book is that it isn't too saddled with side plots that drag the book down. The mystery is the primary focus. It's a relatively tight book because of it.
JLN's tropes aren't out of hand either. Sure, we have this family moving to Texas from Missouri - and there's the same outsider feeling that we got in The Ghosts of Now, as well as the mom not coping very well after moving. But, as I said earlier, Sarah isn't too preoccupied with college nor is she annoyingly stupid and stubborn in the way the other heroines are. There isn't a strain of religion, a matronly figure, or someone sending anonymous phone calls.
And now that we're moving out of the 80s, the book doesn't feel as dated as a lot of the other books. Still, there are a few things that did make me cringe a bit -- such as the fact that the Mexicans in the book are all called 'illegals' and the fact that Sarah's friend Dee Dee is always talking about her weight (though she's apparently in good enough shape to be a life guard).
[As an aside - there's a weird obsession with weight in a lot of these books. It's not hugely fatphobic in the way a lot of other YA books were at the time, but it's always pointed out when someone is overweight - as if that's relevant to note, and the overweight character is always obsessed with losing weight - if it's a person who has more than a line of dialogue. It's really kind of annoying, and no wonder young women have body issues with all of the shaming going around.]
Overall, it's a solid read with a spooky mystery. I have to give Nixon credit for being able to sell atmosphere really well - because the one consistent thing she does well in these books is give an unsettling and tense atmosphere. And this one does it really well.
I did remember this book's set-up, and at first worried that it was going to be super hokey. It really wasn't - and honestly, while on the simpler side, was a decent, spooky read.
The main character Sarah isn't nearly as irritating as most of these heroines tend to be in these books. Sure - she still does some super dumb stuff -- like withholding important information from her parents and the police that would have solved the crime rather quickly. But JLN wanted to keep up the tension in the book, so she relied on this crutch to keep the plot going.
The thing about this book is that fairly early on any seasoned mystery reader can probably tell where the book is headed. Was it intentional? Or was the fact that these books are essentially written for 13yos make it seem a little easier than a standard mystery. The interesting thing is that (to me) knowing where it was going ramped up the tension considerably. This book is great with keeping up with a spooky atmosphere and an unsettling feeling through out. Part of it is the ghost elements (though these aren't as frequent - this isn't a solid ghost story) but a lot of it is the discomfort of knowing what Sarah seems to be oblivious to.
The other nice thing about this book is that it isn't too saddled with side plots that drag the book down. The mystery is the primary focus. It's a relatively tight book because of it.
JLN's tropes aren't out of hand either. Sure, we have this family moving to Texas from Missouri - and there's the same outsider feeling that we got in The Ghosts of Now, as well as the mom not coping very well after moving. But, as I said earlier, Sarah isn't too preoccupied with college nor is she annoyingly stupid and stubborn in the way the other heroines are. There isn't a strain of religion, a matronly figure, or someone sending anonymous phone calls.
And now that we're moving out of the 80s, the book doesn't feel as dated as a lot of the other books. Still, there are a few things that did make me cringe a bit -- such as the fact that the Mexicans in the book are all called 'illegals' and the fact that Sarah's friend Dee Dee is always talking about her weight (though she's apparently in good enough shape to be a life guard).
[As an aside - there's a weird obsession with weight in a lot of these books. It's not hugely fatphobic in the way a lot of other YA books were at the time, but it's always pointed out when someone is overweight - as if that's relevant to note, and the overweight character is always obsessed with losing weight - if it's a person who has more than a line of dialogue. It's really kind of annoying, and no wonder young women have body issues with all of the shaming going around.]
Overall, it's a solid read with a spooky mystery. I have to give Nixon credit for being able to sell atmosphere really well - because the one consistent thing she does well in these books is give an unsettling and tense atmosphere. And this one does it really well.
December 5, 2012
This book is about a girl, Sarah, who goes through a near death experience and soon feels like she is being watched by someone, or something. She moves to a new town and a new home, where she finds herself dealing with something she never would have imagined. In my opinion, "Whispers from the Dead" is a great book for anyone who enjoys reading about ghosts and murder. After reading this book, I wanted to read the rest of the books in the series. I hope anyone who reads this book enjoys it as much as I did.
May 20, 2013
I would recommend this book for high school students, because I don't know how scared kids may get. I would say this is a good book for girls or boys, because it doesn't just focus on one gender. A girl named Sarah moves to a house in Houston. She finds out later on that someone was murdered in that house. Before that happened, she started seeing and feeling an unwanted presence. I really enjoyed this book and thinking about reading the rest of the series.
October 7, 2015
Wat een spannend boek! Het leeftijdsadvies is 12+, maar ik denk dat ik dat op die leeftijd niet had durven lezen. Had er vanacht zelfs nog moeite mee... De schrijfster weet je echt tot op het puntje van je stoel te trekken, met een flinke dosis kippevel!
December 13, 2009
I enjoyed another Joan Lowery Nixon book on audio so I thought I'd try this one but it was too predictable and slow-moving. Might have been better as a book than audiobook.
April 25, 2010
I read it in class and thought it was definetly an ok book. Kind of predictable, but it had awesome details and was easy to understand what's going on.
July 7, 2019
First book I ever read for 24 hours straight in the 8th grade. Totally the book that made me love reading.
October 21, 2019
This was a fun quick read. It is a slow build but what helps is the mystery and writing style. Some of the characters I did like. Makes me want to read some more spooky reads for Halloween.
November 27, 2023
One of the few JLN books where there is actually something supernatural afoot during these murder mystery and/or suspenseful stories. That adds a little bit of extra enjoyment as far as I'm concerned...
Sarah Darnell was sixteen, almost seventeen, when she died. It was a drowning, caught in the weeds of a lake and swimming with her friends, an unfortunate accident.
She didn't stay dead however...saved in the nick of time by CPR. Sarah saw her own body but did not crossover yet something came back with her.
For awhile, Sarah could feel a presence following her and hear the voice of a spirit whispering in her head. It made her become sensitive to strange things around her and haunted her dreams before disappearing yet left her marked as strange by her peers.
That was in a different city but now her dad has transferred to Houston and found a house that is beautiful next door to the realtor who sold it to them. The moment Sarah steps through the door, however, she can feel a deep chill about the house that she keeps to herself.
Her mom has worried about her before after her near death experience so Sarah knows how to mask the dread she feels. A vision of blood in the entryway hall and the sound of a young woman crying out in Spanish:
"Help me!"
Getting a breath of fresh air from the horrible sensation inside, Sarah ends up making friends with the teenage daughter of the realtor, Evelyn Pritchard. Dee Dee Pritchard gabs a mile a minute but when Sarah asks her over for a Coke, she immediately shuts up with both a look of awe and terror in her eyes.
She says that no one has ever been inside because the family that use to live there, The Holts, were not very friendly people. Yet the moment Dee Dee steps foot inside, Sarah can tell she is ready to flee back to the safety of her own home.
Even the Pritchard's maid, a Mexican woman named Lupita, has a look in her eye when she learns that Sarh and her family just moved in next door. It is a look of concern and fear.
Sarah tries to get some answers about the family who lived there before but Dee Dee doesn't want to talk about the Holts. The only thing Sarah does find out is that they had a teenage son named Adam who was strangely charming and had only one friend, another young man named Eric who lives down the street a ways.
Eric is smug and Sarah doesn't like him very much when Dee Dee introduces her to him...mostly because he won't give her any straight answer to her questions. Sarah already knows that something bad happened in the house but it is her father that learns the truth, telling his wife and daughter that night after his first day of work at the office.
There was a murder and Adam Holt was the one who did it...killing a young woman by stabbing her violently. The body was found later after Adam confessed but his excuse was being out of his head due to an allergic reaction to flu medication. The Holts divorced, Adam went to live with his mother in California and did no time in jail and the house was put up for sale.
No one else wanted to live in a house that was the scene of a murder once they learned what happened so it stayed vacant for almost two years. It was bringing down everyone else's property value so interested buyers and renters were not told its gruesome history.
Sarah's parents feel angry about being deceived but they can't really afford to rent or buy another home to live in after putting money in this house even though it was so cheap. Sarah's mom is afraid that the house may be too much for Sarah to handle given her past but Sarah has already made up her mind.
Sarah can't ignore how sad and pleading the voice begged for her help after all of these years when no one else was here to hear the whisper from the dead...
In all rational thought, a normal person would run from that house screaming but you have to admire Sarah for wanting to stay and help. She buys herself a Spanish to English dictionary to decipher what the spirit asks and discovers a possible motive for murder but it pulls her even deeper into discovering yet another crime...
To go into any more of the book would be spoiling it for anyone who has not read this and is interested but the twists and reveals are easy to figure out if you pay really close attention. You will notice things and it may seem strange even though I have only read Whispers From the Dead this one time...I have read similar works and enough Joan Lowery Nixon this month to notice the subtle hints of her writing style.
The climax and the ending were good but other details of the story are what kept me from giving it a five star rating but everything else was full of suspense, tension and enough thrills to make it worth reading.
Sarah Darnell was sixteen, almost seventeen, when she died. It was a drowning, caught in the weeds of a lake and swimming with her friends, an unfortunate accident.
She didn't stay dead however...saved in the nick of time by CPR. Sarah saw her own body but did not crossover yet something came back with her.
For awhile, Sarah could feel a presence following her and hear the voice of a spirit whispering in her head. It made her become sensitive to strange things around her and haunted her dreams before disappearing yet left her marked as strange by her peers.
That was in a different city but now her dad has transferred to Houston and found a house that is beautiful next door to the realtor who sold it to them. The moment Sarah steps through the door, however, she can feel a deep chill about the house that she keeps to herself.
Her mom has worried about her before after her near death experience so Sarah knows how to mask the dread she feels. A vision of blood in the entryway hall and the sound of a young woman crying out in Spanish:
"Help me!"
Getting a breath of fresh air from the horrible sensation inside, Sarah ends up making friends with the teenage daughter of the realtor, Evelyn Pritchard. Dee Dee Pritchard gabs a mile a minute but when Sarah asks her over for a Coke, she immediately shuts up with both a look of awe and terror in her eyes.
She says that no one has ever been inside because the family that use to live there, The Holts, were not very friendly people. Yet the moment Dee Dee steps foot inside, Sarah can tell she is ready to flee back to the safety of her own home.
Even the Pritchard's maid, a Mexican woman named Lupita, has a look in her eye when she learns that Sarh and her family just moved in next door. It is a look of concern and fear.
Sarah tries to get some answers about the family who lived there before but Dee Dee doesn't want to talk about the Holts. The only thing Sarah does find out is that they had a teenage son named Adam who was strangely charming and had only one friend, another young man named Eric who lives down the street a ways.
Eric is smug and Sarah doesn't like him very much when Dee Dee introduces her to him...mostly because he won't give her any straight answer to her questions. Sarah already knows that something bad happened in the house but it is her father that learns the truth, telling his wife and daughter that night after his first day of work at the office.
There was a murder and Adam Holt was the one who did it...killing a young woman by stabbing her violently. The body was found later after Adam confessed but his excuse was being out of his head due to an allergic reaction to flu medication. The Holts divorced, Adam went to live with his mother in California and did no time in jail and the house was put up for sale.
No one else wanted to live in a house that was the scene of a murder once they learned what happened so it stayed vacant for almost two years. It was bringing down everyone else's property value so interested buyers and renters were not told its gruesome history.
Sarah's parents feel angry about being deceived but they can't really afford to rent or buy another home to live in after putting money in this house even though it was so cheap. Sarah's mom is afraid that the house may be too much for Sarah to handle given her past but Sarah has already made up her mind.
Sarah can't ignore how sad and pleading the voice begged for her help after all of these years when no one else was here to hear the whisper from the dead...
In all rational thought, a normal person would run from that house screaming but you have to admire Sarah for wanting to stay and help. She buys herself a Spanish to English dictionary to decipher what the spirit asks and discovers a possible motive for murder but it pulls her even deeper into discovering yet another crime...
To go into any more of the book would be spoiling it for anyone who has not read this and is interested but the twists and reveals are easy to figure out if you pay really close attention. You will notice things and it may seem strange even though I have only read Whispers From the Dead this one time...I have read similar works and enough Joan Lowery Nixon this month to notice the subtle hints of her writing style.
The climax and the ending were good but other details of the story are what kept me from giving it a five star rating but everything else was full of suspense, tension and enough thrills to make it worth reading.
April 4, 2021
Do not let the cliché title dissuade you. This book is far better than what the generic-ghost-story title suggests. It is, however, a book best read as an adolescent. Adults will be too quick to figure out the (unfortunately rather obvious) plot twist and children might be distressed by the sometimes graphic descriptions of violence, death and near death.
There is much to be praised. The premise is a good one, the atmosphere uncanny and ethereal, and the pacing is excellent. The story is easy to follow with a clear and concise language, making it easy to imagine the scenes in your head. The book’s first and foremost strength is to experience this story through the lead character’s eyes. Through the book, we get to follow Sarah’s journey of realizing and dealing with her newfound ability to sense (and sometimes communicate with) presences that those around her cannot sense after a near-drowning accident, as well as the ensuing hydrophobia.
Sarah is a sympathetic character who early, after the initial shock and denial, shows a willingness to understand, communicate and even help the specters, which she can sense. Through the narration, you get a deep sense of Sarah’s’ solitude. The story takes place in a suburb and Sarah is surrounded by family and friends and yet, there is this feeling of isolation and loneliness to her character that stood out to me and still does even after all these years.
The obvious development is in fact the one major complaint I have, as well as a couple of minor. The twist is far too obvious far too early in the story. This is a book that had benefitted from a great deal of subtlety, though as the target audience is young adolescents, I am willing to let that slide. There was also a sentence here and there that made me raise an eyebrow. The Spanish-English phrasebook, however, as I’ve seen some point out, is not one of them. A ghost is talking to you in Spanish? Of course a phrasebook would be of far better use than a dictionary. I love how this action alone shows Sarah’s empathic and pragmatic nature.
Addendum: I did read this book as an adolescent and was therefore rather forgiving with the obvious development compared to what I would have been now. I also read a translated version and not the original English script. I therefore was never exposed to problematic language, such as ‘illegals’.
There is much to be praised. The premise is a good one, the atmosphere uncanny and ethereal, and the pacing is excellent. The story is easy to follow with a clear and concise language, making it easy to imagine the scenes in your head. The book’s first and foremost strength is to experience this story through the lead character’s eyes. Through the book, we get to follow Sarah’s journey of realizing and dealing with her newfound ability to sense (and sometimes communicate with) presences that those around her cannot sense after a near-drowning accident, as well as the ensuing hydrophobia.
Sarah is a sympathetic character who early, after the initial shock and denial, shows a willingness to understand, communicate and even help the specters, which she can sense. Through the narration, you get a deep sense of Sarah’s’ solitude. The story takes place in a suburb and Sarah is surrounded by family and friends and yet, there is this feeling of isolation and loneliness to her character that stood out to me and still does even after all these years.
The obvious development is in fact the one major complaint I have, as well as a couple of minor. The twist is far too obvious far too early in the story. This is a book that had benefitted from a great deal of subtlety, though as the target audience is young adolescents, I am willing to let that slide. There was also a sentence here and there that made me raise an eyebrow. The Spanish-English phrasebook, however, as I’ve seen some point out, is not one of them. A ghost is talking to you in Spanish? Of course a phrasebook would be of far better use than a dictionary. I love how this action alone shows Sarah’s empathic and pragmatic nature.
Addendum: I did read this book as an adolescent and was therefore rather forgiving with the obvious development compared to what I would have been now. I also read a translated version and not the original English script. I therefore was never exposed to problematic language, such as ‘illegals’.
March 5, 2024
I had the privilege of meeting the author at a conference for reading teachers many years ago. After reading the book, I suspected it was based on a true crime that occurred in Houston in June 1984, the murder of substitute mail carrier, Debra Sue Schatz (https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-cri...). The author confirmed this was the case and provided additional details as to why she wrote the book.
On a hot June afternoon, Debra Sue Schatz was running an unfamiliar mail route as a substitute carrier in the pricey Memorial Drive area of Houston. She had mistakenly started her deliveries at the end of the route, which meant she was arriving at homes long before or after she would have been expected. She was killed before she completed the route. Her blood was found in the foyer of teenager David Port's home. He was the only person home during the time that Schatz could have been killed. Most intriguing, however, a second blood type was found in the foyer that belonged to neither Schatz nor Port. Interestingly, Joan Lowery Nixon lived in a house built to the exact design of the Port home in their contractor developed subdivision. Both houses had a sidelight, single pane, floor-to-ceiling window next to the front door. Whispers from the Dead was Lowery Nixon's effort to reason out exactly what must have happened the day Debra Sue was murdered. The author used all of the details and facts of the actual murder to create her story. And yes, she firmly believed that David Port was guilty.
Incidentally, when I wanted to teach higher order thinking skills to my 7th grade remedial readers, I chose this novel because Lowery Nixon used enriched vocabulary and reading the actual newspaper articles about the crime before reading the novel set up a great mystery solving experience for my students. It made them think strategically and logically in an exciting way. The kids loved the book and discussing the pros and cons of the author's theory of the crime and the ones they came up with. Sadly, in today's political climate, I would not be able to use this book in the classroom.
On a hot June afternoon, Debra Sue Schatz was running an unfamiliar mail route as a substitute carrier in the pricey Memorial Drive area of Houston. She had mistakenly started her deliveries at the end of the route, which meant she was arriving at homes long before or after she would have been expected. She was killed before she completed the route. Her blood was found in the foyer of teenager David Port's home. He was the only person home during the time that Schatz could have been killed. Most intriguing, however, a second blood type was found in the foyer that belonged to neither Schatz nor Port. Interestingly, Joan Lowery Nixon lived in a house built to the exact design of the Port home in their contractor developed subdivision. Both houses had a sidelight, single pane, floor-to-ceiling window next to the front door. Whispers from the Dead was Lowery Nixon's effort to reason out exactly what must have happened the day Debra Sue was murdered. The author used all of the details and facts of the actual murder to create her story. And yes, she firmly believed that David Port was guilty.
Incidentally, when I wanted to teach higher order thinking skills to my 7th grade remedial readers, I chose this novel because Lowery Nixon used enriched vocabulary and reading the actual newspaper articles about the crime before reading the novel set up a great mystery solving experience for my students. It made them think strategically and logically in an exciting way. The kids loved the book and discussing the pros and cons of the author's theory of the crime and the ones they came up with. Sadly, in today's political climate, I would not be able to use this book in the classroom.
August 20, 2023
For an alternate version with gifs/images go to my blog.
After a near-death experience due to an accident while out swimming with friends, Sarah Darnell has contracted a serious fear of the water and a connection to the spirit world. When her father gets a promotion, Sarah’s family is uprooted from their Missouri home and moved to a beautiful house in Houston, Texas. Almost immediately Sarah has a bad feeling about the home and soon enough she begins having visions and hearing cries of “¡Ayúdame!” late at night. It soon becomes clear that someone is reaching out to Sarah from the grave and she must help this spirit before she ends up meeting a similar fate.
As someone who has read several of Ms. Nixon’s mysteries over the years, I was relatively disappointed in this one. The story itself was interesting – it’s a twist on the “we got a great deal on this murder house” trope, in that the family purchasing the house was unaware of the horrific events that occurred within the walls. Apparently the fact that a murder took place on the premises is not something a realtor is required to disclose – or at least it wasn’t in Texas in the 1980s. That’s always fun.
Sarah soon befriends her chubby, bubbly neighbor Dee Dee and becomes acquainted with Eric, a teenage boy that lives down the street. While Dee Dee is sweet and naïve, Eric is a douche right out the gate. He calls Dee Dee “Chubby” like it’s her name and criticizes Sarah for being too tall for him. He does, however, introduce her to the love interest of the story, Tony – a guy who is handsome and charming, but also has that bad boy edge. Sarah is immediately smitten and ignores any and all red flag behavior because “he’s so cute, though!”
Both Eric and Tony are friends of Adam Holt, the boy who used to live in Sarah’s house – a boy who is believed to have murdered a pizza delivery girl in the foyer of the home but released on a technicality. A boy who was also accused of sexually assaulting a classmate – but people don’t believe that happened because she “has a reputation.” (Yay, the nasty belief that someone who is sexually promiscuous cannot be sexually assaulted. Promiscuous people still pick and choose who they get involved with and still have the right to say no to anyone who they don’t want to be with. Also, if she’s owned up to her easy reputation, why would she lie about being with Adam?) Knowing that his friends stuck by him through the sexual assault accusations and murder charges is enough for me to say, “throw everyone in the damn trash,” but Sarah continues to hang out with Dee Dee and Tony.
From the details of her visions and evidence she finds within her home, Sarah realizes someone other than the pizza girl was likely murdered there and she is determined to solve the mystery so the young woman’s spirit can finally rest.
Sadly, Sarah is not the brightest when it comes to detective work and even more oblivious to potential dangers around her. She trusts people far too easily, even when it’s clear the spirit she’s communicating with is trying to warn her away from someone very specific. She gives away exactly how much she knows when fishing for information from people who very easily could be the murderer. She only tells one person where she hides the evidence of a second murder victim and then her house is broken into, the only thing stolen is said evidence. When she discusses the fact that a therapist told her the only way to stop the visions is to face her fears and get back in the water, a certain someone is very insistent on helping her get over her phobia, just the two of them alone at a very secluded pond. Absolutely no ill intentions there, nope.
It’s pretty obvious who the killer is early on and the “twist” (or, rather, how Sarah figures out who it is) feels shoe-horned in within the second to last chapter. After this wakeup call she does get her wits about her and is able to come up with a strategy to bring the killer to justice. This includes outsmarting them in the final act.
The strongest element of the story was not the whodunit or the protagonist, but the spirit herself. The mystery around who she was and what really happened to her was the most intriguing. I also really liked the commentary on how the upper middleclass suburbanites viewed undocumented immigrants (cheap labor, easy to exploit, disposable). They too could live like the rich elite and have servants. These immigrants were also seen as easy victims – they can’t tell anyone if they’re being abused because they could risk deportation and many have no one that would miss them if they disappeared altogether. The excerpt at the beginning of the novel includes the spirit speaking Spanish so I was clued in pretty quickly that the victim was Hispanic and likely an undocumented immigrant once I noticed the trend of Latina maids in Sarah’s neighborhood. (Oh my God! Exploitation of desperate poor people is so fetch!) This book is a product of its time, however, and does refer to these individuals as “illegal immigrants” or simply “illegals.” While it’s not pleasant to read, it does help the reader see how this community views the folks they employ.
There are also some suspenseful sequences. I did worry for Sarah when she was alone in her house and realized there was an intruder, leading to her being trapped in a bathroom with them trying to break down the door. Also, despite seeing it coming, the pond sequence was also quite tense (because of course she went, the fool!). I felt her panic as she was pulled toward the water – and this was just from her water phobia, she had no idea her companion had nefarious plans for her.
I’m not a fan of Sarah’s mother. She’s tries to guilt Sarah into not having the visions because Sarah’s pain “hurts her mother and father.” Like Sarah wants to have this connection to the spirit world? Gee, Honey, have you tried NOT being psychic?
Sarah: “I see dead people.”
Her Mom: “Have you thought about how this affects ME?!”
Her Mom is also the one who encourages her to go to the pond with the aforementioned insistent individual. Maybe I was spoiled by having a mother who could easily read people but there is no way she would have let me go on such an excursion. Especially if I had a friend that worked as a life guard and access to the local pool like Sarah does.
I feel this is one of Ms. Nixon’s weaker works – the story is still interesting and I liked the social commentary, but normally the killer isn’t as easy to figure out and the protagonist is usually a lot smarter. It’s like she meets a boy she’s attracted to and her brain oozes out her damn ears. I did want to find out what happened to the spirit and I did care enough about Sarah to worry when she was in danger, but overall this was a slightly disappointing revisit to a favorite author from my childhood.
3/5
After a near-death experience due to an accident while out swimming with friends, Sarah Darnell has contracted a serious fear of the water and a connection to the spirit world. When her father gets a promotion, Sarah’s family is uprooted from their Missouri home and moved to a beautiful house in Houston, Texas. Almost immediately Sarah has a bad feeling about the home and soon enough she begins having visions and hearing cries of “¡Ayúdame!” late at night. It soon becomes clear that someone is reaching out to Sarah from the grave and she must help this spirit before she ends up meeting a similar fate.
As someone who has read several of Ms. Nixon’s mysteries over the years, I was relatively disappointed in this one. The story itself was interesting – it’s a twist on the “we got a great deal on this murder house” trope, in that the family purchasing the house was unaware of the horrific events that occurred within the walls. Apparently the fact that a murder took place on the premises is not something a realtor is required to disclose – or at least it wasn’t in Texas in the 1980s. That’s always fun.
Sarah soon befriends her chubby, bubbly neighbor Dee Dee and becomes acquainted with Eric, a teenage boy that lives down the street. While Dee Dee is sweet and naïve, Eric is a douche right out the gate. He calls Dee Dee “Chubby” like it’s her name and criticizes Sarah for being too tall for him. He does, however, introduce her to the love interest of the story, Tony – a guy who is handsome and charming, but also has that bad boy edge. Sarah is immediately smitten and ignores any and all red flag behavior because “he’s so cute, though!”
Both Eric and Tony are friends of Adam Holt, the boy who used to live in Sarah’s house – a boy who is believed to have murdered a pizza delivery girl in the foyer of the home but released on a technicality. A boy who was also accused of sexually assaulting a classmate – but people don’t believe that happened because she “has a reputation.” (Yay, the nasty belief that someone who is sexually promiscuous cannot be sexually assaulted. Promiscuous people still pick and choose who they get involved with and still have the right to say no to anyone who they don’t want to be with. Also, if she’s owned up to her easy reputation, why would she lie about being with Adam?) Knowing that his friends stuck by him through the sexual assault accusations and murder charges is enough for me to say, “throw everyone in the damn trash,” but Sarah continues to hang out with Dee Dee and Tony.
From the details of her visions and evidence she finds within her home, Sarah realizes someone other than the pizza girl was likely murdered there and she is determined to solve the mystery so the young woman’s spirit can finally rest.
Sadly, Sarah is not the brightest when it comes to detective work and even more oblivious to potential dangers around her. She trusts people far too easily, even when it’s clear the spirit she’s communicating with is trying to warn her away from someone very specific. She gives away exactly how much she knows when fishing for information from people who very easily could be the murderer. She only tells one person where she hides the evidence of a second murder victim and then her house is broken into, the only thing stolen is said evidence. When she discusses the fact that a therapist told her the only way to stop the visions is to face her fears and get back in the water, a certain someone is very insistent on helping her get over her phobia, just the two of them alone at a very secluded pond. Absolutely no ill intentions there, nope.
It’s pretty obvious who the killer is early on and the “twist” (or, rather, how Sarah figures out who it is) feels shoe-horned in within the second to last chapter. After this wakeup call she does get her wits about her and is able to come up with a strategy to bring the killer to justice. This includes outsmarting them in the final act.
The strongest element of the story was not the whodunit or the protagonist, but the spirit herself. The mystery around who she was and what really happened to her was the most intriguing. I also really liked the commentary on how the upper middleclass suburbanites viewed undocumented immigrants (cheap labor, easy to exploit, disposable). They too could live like the rich elite and have servants. These immigrants were also seen as easy victims – they can’t tell anyone if they’re being abused because they could risk deportation and many have no one that would miss them if they disappeared altogether. The excerpt at the beginning of the novel includes the spirit speaking Spanish so I was clued in pretty quickly that the victim was Hispanic and likely an undocumented immigrant once I noticed the trend of Latina maids in Sarah’s neighborhood. (Oh my God! Exploitation of desperate poor people is so fetch!) This book is a product of its time, however, and does refer to these individuals as “illegal immigrants” or simply “illegals.” While it’s not pleasant to read, it does help the reader see how this community views the folks they employ.
There are also some suspenseful sequences. I did worry for Sarah when she was alone in her house and realized there was an intruder, leading to her being trapped in a bathroom with them trying to break down the door. Also, despite seeing it coming, the pond sequence was also quite tense (because of course she went, the fool!). I felt her panic as she was pulled toward the water – and this was just from her water phobia, she had no idea her companion had nefarious plans for her.
I’m not a fan of Sarah’s mother. She’s tries to guilt Sarah into not having the visions because Sarah’s pain “hurts her mother and father.” Like Sarah wants to have this connection to the spirit world? Gee, Honey, have you tried NOT being psychic?
Sarah: “I see dead people.”
Her Mom: “Have you thought about how this affects ME?!”
Her Mom is also the one who encourages her to go to the pond with the aforementioned insistent individual. Maybe I was spoiled by having a mother who could easily read people but there is no way she would have let me go on such an excursion. Especially if I had a friend that worked as a life guard and access to the local pool like Sarah does.
I feel this is one of Ms. Nixon’s weaker works – the story is still interesting and I liked the social commentary, but normally the killer isn’t as easy to figure out and the protagonist is usually a lot smarter. It’s like she meets a boy she’s attracted to and her brain oozes out her damn ears. I did want to find out what happened to the spirit and I did care enough about Sarah to worry when she was in danger, but overall this was a slightly disappointing revisit to a favorite author from my childhood.
3/5
July 6, 2017
You can definitely tell this book is from around the early 90's (1989) as there is no way that the big reveal would have worked in the day of internet and cell phones. Putting all that aside, the book was still captivating and had fairly good characters and plot. However, there were some moments when I had to roll my eyes and yell a little when Sarah was so completely obtuse.
1. She tells Tony where Rosa's things are hidden, someone breaks in and Rosa's stuff are the only things to go missing and she doesn't put that together?
2. Tony locks the door behind him at her house and makes a comment about it being habit and everyone just goes along with that.
3. She spills her guts about the murders to only one person the entire book. Guess who it just happens to be. 🙄
4. Anytime the main character talks about how wonderful and perfect a guy it at nauseum, you know that's the killer.
So it was all a little bit ridiculous, but I listened to the whole thing in a couple days and through some deep cleaning of my house to it was entertaining enough. I would buy it, but worth checking out from the library.
1. She tells Tony where Rosa's things are hidden, someone breaks in and Rosa's stuff are the only things to go missing and she doesn't put that together?
2. Tony locks the door behind him at her house and makes a comment about it being habit and everyone just goes along with that.
3. She spills her guts about the murders to only one person the entire book. Guess who it just happens to be. 🙄
4. Anytime the main character talks about how wonderful and perfect a guy it at nauseum, you know that's the killer.
So it was all a little bit ridiculous, but I listened to the whole thing in a couple days and through some deep cleaning of my house to it was entertaining enough. I would buy it, but worth checking out from the library.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2024
Yet another book found in my repertoire of those collected over the years that I realized I had not read. Making it a habit now of reading and either turning in for credit (towards future purchases at the used book store) or donating (to those neighborhood library boxes) the ones I know the bookstore won't take for some conditional reason. Basic pulp mystery/horror. A young teenage girl moves into a new home after her father, left to his own devices of real estate purchases, gets a "really good deal" on an upgraded house closer to his recent job transfer. Kind of a predictable plot line - and scooby doo mysteries are more difficult to solve :-) It was an escape but every aspect was predictable and while it was needed that the main character be innocent and make mistakes to propel the story, you often question her intelligence and common sense.
August 10, 2017
I was somewhat surprised that this book has been challenged and banned in some libraries. Fatal attraction, some violence, and a belief in ghosts does not warrant removal from a library in my opinion. I think it is a good suspense and mystery novel. It points out Sarah’s flaw and mistake in trusting Tony and it gives young women the insight to not trust an attractive young man too easily. It also speaks to the internal struggle that one goes through when trying to deal with an issue while the rest of the world does not believe you. This could be an inspiring novel for young adults.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2024
I really enjoyed reading this book, overall. The beginning wasn’t very gripping; but as I read more, I wanted to keep reading.
I did notice some odd grammatical mistakes towards the end of the book.
Tony seemed very creepy, and I was like, ‘come on!, seeing that Sarah didn’t pick up on that.
It gets some creepy vibes near the end when Tony takes Sarah to the lake.
The ending left me with some questions- why did Tony kill Rosa? Was he just a psychopathic potential serial killer? I don’t know, because it never elaborates.
I did notice some odd grammatical mistakes towards the end of the book.
Tony seemed very creepy, and I was like, ‘come on!, seeing that Sarah didn’t pick up on that.
It gets some creepy vibes near the end when Tony takes Sarah to the lake.
The ending left me with some questions- why did Tony kill Rosa? Was he just a psychopathic potential serial killer? I don’t know, because it never elaborates.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2018
I liked this book but I'm getting good at mystery because when they started introducing Tony i had a wild guess What if this is Adam? but I was joking and knew it probably wouldn't be and it turned he was Adam, weird. Sarah got on my nerves sometimes though like how she couldn't tell Tony was the one who broke into her house and how she didn't see the danger when he said private lake no one is around like get it together... anyways really good book 10/10 recommend
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2023
It's still a "mystery" novel, but Nixon goes supernatural in this one. It may be the creepiest one by her I've read and it's one of her best. (It *is* one of the rare books where I predicted a major twist that was coming, but that may have been due to some very distant memory lodged in my brain; this is one of the two books by her I'd first read when I actually was "young adult.") If they've never tried to make any sort of movie of this one, that seems like a missed opportunity.
January 30, 2021
good plot, but throughout the book, immigrants are called "illegals" and "illegal aliens," two horrible terms. there is no recognition for this. no one tells the other characters not to call immigrants those things. a really bad book because of this.
edit: i do realize that this was written in 1989, but it seems like there should be an updated version without those derogatory terms.
edit: i do realize that this was written in 1989, but it seems like there should be an updated version without those derogatory terms.
March 26, 2022
It’s more like a 3.5 but I really enjoyed this book I figured it all out by chapter 3 but I was enjoying it so much I kept going nonetheless. They ending was finished too quickly in my opinion but it was so amazingly scary that I would totally recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a quick spooky read.
December 31, 2023
When I first read this book, I was imidietly thinking five stars, but looking back in it i'm going to have to say four because it just doesn't fit the five star rank, if that makes sense. It is amazing, and fast paced, and when the plot twist came, I shouted, "I KNEW IT!" I recommend this book for all of you lovely mystery readers.
July 4, 2020
Though I had the story figured out a little past halfway, it was still a good read. Even though the tech is a little outdated (no smart phones in 1989), young readers will still get a thrill from the paranormal side of this spine-tingling novel.
August 20, 2020
I love this book as a kid. Read it to my children now and they are it up. You can sort of see where things are going, so the plot twists aren’t super surprising, but it was spot-on for my 10 and 12-year-olds.
September 19, 2020
This was a good story but it felt a little too obvious from the beginning who the villain was. Still worth the read though.
December 9, 2020
One of my favorites by Joan Lowery Nixon
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