The Mystery at Dark Cedars

Sixteen‑year‑old Mary Louise Gay loves puzzles as much as she loves her quick‑witted friend Jane Patterson. When a stray kitten is found clinging to a branch near the forbidding Dark Cedars estate, the girls seize the chance to investigate the rumor‑filled mansion that locals claim is haunted. Their curiosity draws them toward a crumbling façade, wind‑whipped cedars, and the unmistakable feeling that someone—or something—doesn't want to be found.

Inside, the girls meet Miss Mattie Grant, a reclusive spinster, and the shy niece Elsie who seems hidden behind a veil of misery. Among the household—slightly eccentric servants, a mysterious gypsy fortune‑teller, and a host of oddly named relatives—Mary Louise’s keen eye begins to spot odd footprints, whispered arguments, and a series of cryptic notes left in the garden. With her trusty spaniel Silky at her side, she sets out to untangle the tangled rumors before the night’s eerie sounds turn the mystery into something far more dangerous.