This book isn't very exciting!!!! It was acctually really boring in alot of places. There was like only 2 out of 20 parts that i liked. I had to do a presentation on this book and it was relly hard beacuse I didn't really like the book! ( )

Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

If you're looking for a good mystery/ghost story, then look no further. DEEP AND DARK AND DANGEROUS by Mary Downing Hahn offers mystery, suspense, and some great ghost action.

Recently, Ali stumbled across an old photo of her mother and aunt when they were young girls. There was something odd about the photo. It appeared that another girl had been part of the picture but her part was torn away, leaving only the letter `T' to give any hint to her identity. Ali's mother swears she has no idea who was in the picture, but she isn't very convincing - which leaves Ali full of questions.

Ali is surprised when her Aunt Dulcie and cousin Emma come to visit. Aunt Dulcie is her mother's older sister, but she's entirely different. Ali's mom suffers from chronic migraines and periodic depression while Aunt Dulcie is the strong, independent type. There have been numerous times in Ali's life when she has wished her mother was more like Aunt Dulcie. Ali shows Aunt Dulcie the old photo and is surprised that her reaction is much the same as her mother's. How could they both not remember a picture taken at their family's vacation spot in Maine?

Dulcie is an artist with a big show coming up in the fall in Washington, D.C. She has decided to renovate the old family lake house and work on her paintings there. However, the lake and her almost five-year-old daughter make a dangerous combination, so Dulcie is hoping to take along her thirteen-year-old niece, Ali, as a babysitter. Ali's mother tries to put her foot down and says absolutely not, but she is outvoted and Ali packs her things for a summer at the lake.

Arriving at the cabin during a typical Maine rainstorm doesn't dampen Ali's spirits. She's looking forward to playing and swimming with Emma in the lake and sort of being her own boss. Ali's mother has always been a bit overprotective, and her bizarre reaction to Ali spending the summer at the lake house just convinces Ali that her mother has a problem. How can a beautiful lake, a cozy cabin, and the great outdoors be a bad place to spend the summer? Ali also secretly hopes to uncover the mystery of the photo and the missing girl whose name might have begun with `T'.

It doesn't take long for some strange things to begin happening. The most unnerving is the presence of a slim, young girl in a faded blue bathing suit who introduces herself to Ali and Emma. At first she appears to be a possible companion for the girls, but then she starts acting irritable and mean. She refuses to reveal her last name or where she lives, and she seems to be developing an unnatural hold on little Emma. Emma wants to do everything this strange girl named Sissy does, but at the same time Sissy treats Emma with cruelty.

When Ali attempts to seek out more information about Sissy and the mysterious girl from her mother's and aunt's past, she is met with one obstacle after another. Could this rude little girl have some connection to the mystery of why her mother refuses to return to the family cabin?

Mary Downing Hahn offers readers stormy weather, a deep, dark lake, and many unanswered questions to keep mystery and ghost story fans turning pages right up to the end. ( )

It's a bone-chilling page turner book. Probably not the best book to read in the dark. ( )

I liked this for our school's book club, but it is not my favorite genre. Plus - it was really scary!!!! ( )

While looking for a book to read, Ali finds an old photograph of her mother and aunt. The strange thing is the picture has the arm of another girl but nothing else. That section has been torn away. When she asks her mother about the picture she behaves strangely. Showing the photo to her father he informs Ali that her mother and aunt used to spend their summers at Sycamore Lake and they still own the cabin there. He suggests they spend some time there over the summer. Her mother refuses and suddenly gets one of her headaches. Then her Aunt Dulcie and niece Emma show up and inform them that they are going to fix up the cabin so she can work on her art and prepare for a showing. She wants to take Ali with her to act as a babysitter. Her mother is outraged but finally gives in. What is it that has her so upset? Why does she not want to go back to the cabin? Who is the mysterious girl missing from the picture? The answers to all of these questions will have to be answered by Ali as she spends her summer at the cabin. This was another one of Mary Downing Hahn's great ghost stories. This one didn't creep me out as much as a lot of her books do but it still gave me goosebumps at times. I gave this one a rating of 5 out of 5 ( )