Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn is about Ali, a 13 year old girl who was hired by her aunt to spend the summer at a cottage in Maine and babysit her 4 year old cousin, Emma, while Aunt Dulcie works on her painting. Just before heading up to the family cottage, Ali stumbles upon a ripped photo of her mother and aunt. She can tell it was taken at the cottage in Maine, even though no one in their family has been there for 30 years. The strange things is, someone has been torn out of the photo and a name on the back, beginning with 'T' has been scratched out. When she asks her mother about it, she starts acting strangely and refuses to admit she knows anything about the other girl in the photo. Ali's mother doesn't want anyone going to the cottage for the summer, convinced it's too dangerous, but she won't say why. Once at the cottage, Ali and Emma meet Sissy, a young girl who seems to follow her own rules. She's not very nice, but Emma insists upon spending time with her. As Ali comes closer to discovering the secret about the girl in the photo, Sissy continues her erratic behavior, turning Emma against both Ali and Aunt Dulcie. Things come to a head on a foggy, stormy day when the mystery of what happened 30 years ago at the lake finally unravels for Ali, putting her and her family in a deep and dark and dangerous situation.

This was a great mystery! As a reader, the events unfold more quickly than they do for the characters in the book. This is one of those stories where you're practically shouting at the characters to, "Watch out!" and "Just go home and forget about the lake!". It was certainly eerie and definitely suspenseful. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a horror/mystery story that isn't too scary.