Looking for Juliette

Lisle's many fans won't be disappointed by this adventure, second in a planned four-volume series to feature the immensely likable investigators introduced in The Gold Dust Letters. Things are off to a gloomy start when Angela announces to Georgina and Poco that she is leaving for a year in Mexico with her father and brother. She entrusts her cat, Juliette, to Poco's care, while her house is turned over to the elderly Mrs. Bone. When Juliette disappears after being hit by a car, a distraught Poco persuades Georgina to help track down the missing feline, while mysterious Mrs. Bone becomes the prime suspect. They are joined by Walter Kew, a withdrawn classmate who is the sole witness to Juliette's bizarre accident and who, surprisingly, converses regularly with a Ouija board. Skillfully blending realism with just the right touch of enchantment, this story wittily deflates its characters' belief in Ouija boards and witchery while leaving room for subtler magic. Lisle once again exerts a charm all her own. Ages 8-10. (Oct.)