The House Where Nobody Lived

A John Bellairs Mystery

By: Brad Strickland

Narrated by: George Guidall

The lovable underdog Lewis Barnavelt and his best friend, Rose Rita, are at it again - investigating the curious (and possibly supernatural?) goings-on in their town of New Zebedee. They get more than they bargained for when a new family moves into the Hawaii House, one of the oddest-looking houses in town, and Lewis and Rose Rita are drawn into a mystery involving forces far beyond the shores of their imagination.

Why are there strange drumbeats emanating from the top floor of the Hawaii House? And why is Lewis having dreams about Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire?

Incorporating actual Hawaiian legends with a spine-tingling story of suspense, this is another great addition to the Bellairs canon.

©2006 Suzanne Bellairs and Frank Bellairs (P)2018 Recorded Books

Lewis Barnavelt and team take on a goddess

Lewis and company are back. There is a new family in town and their son is in classes with Lewis and Rosarita. But, as you might expect, trouble follows. It seems that the new family has moved in to the weird Hawaii House, a residence with a dark past.

Can our heroes save the family from curses, ghosts, an angry volcano goddess, as well as high school bullies? Well of course they can, but it won't be easy.

This is one of the better series entries of late. I recommend it for anyone who knows Lewis Barnavelt or Rosarita Pottinger.

The story was very captivating

Front beginning to end. Fabulous story, great listening material. I look forward to other adventures with Luis and his friends.

Not just a fun family and YA thriller, but also a delightful meditation on colonialism!

The posthumous novels in the Barnavelt-verse offer a view of New Zebedee (and in turn, Middle America) through a new lens, without losing any of the charm of the originals. Rose Rita is still the compassionate slugger, Lewis is still the introspective philosopher and fear-carrier for the rest of the community, Mrs Zimmerman is still mysterious, erudite and agile, and Uncle Jonathan is still the cozy bear with a twinkle in his eye, a spine of steel, and a pocket full of illusions. Yet this novel puts the four through their paces with a new challenge, which wasn’t discussed in the 1950s of the original Bellairs novels. The Hawaii House and subsequent conflict symbolizes the folly of colonialism. The best of intentions (trying to import Hawaii’s spirit and culture) result in a fate worse than death. As a result, Mrs. Zimmerman and Uncle Jonathan have to learn new ways of understanding and using magic, through Pacific Island lore rather than North American and European culture. Meanwhile Lewis has to learn to be brave and compassionate at the same time, and Rose Rita practices diplomacy, sympathy and nurturance while remaining the strongest arm in baseball with social fortitude to match. The author describes the behavior of the haunted with empathetic detail: we can clearly see the effects of trauma in a way that helps the reader understand survivors. These characters aren’t perfect: the magic users bluff their way into the haunted house, rather than bringing a plate of Mrs. Zimmerman’s cookies and describing themselves as the welcome wagon and greeting committee of the Knights of New Zebedee. Their foibles only make them more delightful and unique, and we feel hard-won victory with them when they finally triumph over Bad Magic.

Great car listen

to be honest i started this series when i saw the movie of book one, i needed to know more. the series in all is not bad its fun to listen to while driving and the reader Mr. Guidall is a joy to listen too made the books come alive really. so i recommend it completely as a way to pull back from day to day stress as the book times in the good all days of well spoken English and politeness, it is so nice to hear someone say thank you and please. so why not give this book series a listen.