Kindle Edition Amazon Charlie MacCready James McCracken Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: James M McCracken ISBN-10:  1467974064 Type: Fiction Pages: 245 Copyright: June 17, 2011 ISBN-13: 9781467974066 Young reader mystery series about a boy names Charlie MacCready. Sent to live at a Boys' Home/Orphanage run by a monastery he encounters one mystery after another.    Ten years have passed since Charlie was dropped off at his grandparents' in the middle of the night. His parents promised to return, but never did. Sent to Saint Michael's Abbey & Home for Boys by his Uncle Chester, Charlie finds himself in the middle of yet another mystery. Awakened in the middle of the night Charlie hears a sound coming from the attic above his bed. Together with his three friends, Howard, Gus and Rick, they set out to find The Ghost In The Attic.

Dan Hays, Statesman Journal
Here's a fast-moving, nicely written mystery thriller for young readers.

Author McCracken, who lives in Oregon City, says it is "written with the 8- to 13-year-old audience in mind."

He's probably got that targeted about right except for two things: The writing is too sophisticated for your average 8-year-old, and there are a lot of adults who will get much enjoyment out of this novel.

The book is about a young boy who seemingly has no end with trouble. His parents dropped him off at his grandparents' home, promising to return to pick him up. Ten years later, he still is there...until his uncle sends him to Saint Michael's Abbey & Home for Boys. There he enounters new friends and ... the title mystery.

McCracken hopes this will be the first of a series of five Charlie books, all based on "my experiences and the stories I heard while a teenager at Mount Angel Seminary High School."

He is a good enough writer to pull that off. This book has some moments that are somewhat artificial, but for the most part, it is solid work, interesting, suspenceful and full of understanding about young boys.