Calderwood Books Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: Calderwood Books ISBN-10:  1934614051 Type: Fiction Pages: 196 Copyright: September 2007 ISBN-13: 9781934614051 First book in the YA fantasy series The Crystal Staircase. Well, it all started when Noah and Holli were chasing their dog Gilbert through the old house, the one that had once belonged to the dread pirate Captain Ambrose Craven. When the kids see Gilbert run full speed into…and it looks like, through…a painting, they follow him. Hey, wouldn’t you? But maybe it wasn’t the right decision. Noah and Holli wind up trapped in a past where Captain Craven is very much alive, even worse than his reputation, and has some truly creepy sailors working for him. And they have no idea how to get back home… Excerpt Chapter One Arrival Present day… Noah Macgregor glanced out the window for about the dozenth time in the last five minutes. Nothing but trees. No cars in either direction. "Are we there yet?" he asked hopefully. His mom turned the air conditioner up another notch, then glanced over her shoulder from the front seat and smiled at Noah. "I'm sure we're almost there, honey. It's –" She gave another fold to the map she had spread across her lap. "Well, it looks like it's just about two more miles to the turn-off. Ham, do you recognize anything yet?" Hamish Macgregor shook his head, his red hair blazing in the late afternoon South Carolina sunshine. "Not really, Amelia, but remember, I haven't been here since I was eight." "Wow, that was like ice ages ago, huh, Dad?" Holli, Noah's older sister, laughed. "Yes, it was eons ago, my child," croaked Ham in his old codger voice. "Back around the turn of the century it was, when the stagecoaches were still running. Ah, I remember it well. Took days to trek into town where we bought pickles from barrels, when we weren't hunting possums for food." "There were pirates around here, weren't there, Dad?" "Yup, tons of pirates all through this area. In fact," Ham turned his head to glance at his wife, then went on in a deep and creepy voice, "there were rumors that Captain Ambrose Craven built our house using the vast treasures he stole in his days as a pirate. He's the one who named it Rest-And-Be-Thankful." "No kidding, Dad? I didn't know he was a real pirate!" Noah jumped up and down in his seat, then grabbed one of the books in the pile beside him and started flipping through the pages. "Craven, Craven…" he muttered. "Oh, here we go." Holli put down her pencil – she'd been sketching the trees draped with Spanish moss – and tucked her pale blonde hair behind her ears. "Dork boy back to his dorky history books." "Not nearly as dorky as your boring pictures," Noah replied, as he always did. But his heart wasn't in it this time. Pirates! He tried to read about them, but the road was too bumpy. He put the book back in the pile, rolled his window down and took a deep breath of the salt-tinged air – then rolled it back up fast at the blast of heat. Holli grumbled under her breath as she dusted sand off her drawing...

Fallen Angel Reviews
This story is a cute beginning to an intriguing new series. My nine year old son and I both enjoyed following the adventures Noah, Holli, and Gilbert found themselves in. We will be watching for book two’s release to find out what happens next. K. G. McAbee managed to squeeze in a lot of fun elements into this one story; there is a mystery, a fantasy world, talking animals, pirates, and plenty of adventure to keep one entertained. If you or your child like a little mystery and fantasy with your adventure pick up this story and escape into a world of make believe.

Reviewed by: Stephanie B.


Coffee Time Romance
The Dark Legacy is a good read. I could not help but fall in love with Noah and Holli. They are two adventurous children that get in trouble and their layers of expressions are reflected in the pages. Theirs is a fantastic journey that makes the reader want to come along. K.G. McAbee spins an amazing fantasy that captivates. The tale is fast-paced and keeps the reader turning the pages. I can hardly wait to see what other adventures the children find themselves in with Book 2.
Cherokee
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books


MyShelf by Louanne Jacobs
The Dark Legacy:
Book One of the Crystal Staircase Series
by K. G. (Gail) McAbee


"When the paintings seem to glimmer
And the portals start to shimmer,
If you rush against the battlement,
You’ll batter down the door.
But linger just a bit,
Out of fear that you will hit,
And the surface will be solid
And the passageway no more"
The poem from Great Uncle Enoch’s journal seems unbelievable; surely there is nothing literal about the verse. But didn’t Noah notice some sort of shimmer in the eyes of the floor-to-ceiling portraits in his family’s new home?
The Macgregor family - Mom, Dad, Noah, and his big sister Holli along with their dog, Gilbert, have moved into an ancestral South Carolina mansion willed to them by Great Uncle Enoch when he died - or, rather, disappeared. The historic home is filled with secret passages, a garden maze, and entire closed-off wings begging to be explored. When Noah acquires three cryptic journals, one written in an unidentified brownish ink, the mysteries of the past begin to unfold.
Noah can’t imagine where his dog, Gilbert, has gone within the sandy, crushed-shell manor’s grounds to have returned covered in a red muddy substance; but while he and Holli chase Gilbert through an unexplored wing of the house in an effort to give him a bath, he seems to disappear. His wet footprints lead right to the frame of an enormous painting. While Noah believes his ancestor’s haunting poem to be less-than-factual, he and Holli decide to test the poem’s words, and tumble into an alternate history in which some things seem familiar and others are beyond imagination.
Young readers and old will chase Noah, Holli, and Gilbert not only through the painting, but also through the pages of this fast-paced, enchanting romp. This book is part gothic novel, part mystery, part fantasy, and entirely delightful. Gail McAbee’s first foray into the young adult market is a rousing success.