title: A Message from the Match Girl (Investigators of the Unknown, Bk 3)
author:  Janet Taylor Lisle 
description: Grade 3-6?Walter Kew is a boy who is haunted. He believes his mother's ghost is trying to contact him, but he is also haunted by his own past, or more appropriately, his lack of one. Told by his grandmother that his parents were killed when he was a baby, Walter longs to know more about them. His intense desire seems to bring his mother's presence from "across dark oceans of time." At first he merely senses her voice "like a thought that might have been his own," but soon a mysterious message is found near the statue of the Little Match Girl in Andersen Park. As tokens from Walter's infant past begin to appear, he uncovers a little of the truth about himself. These facts also expose some of the anger and hurt he feels at being abandoned. Concerned about his well being, his two friends Poco and Georgina try to find their own way to the truth, for as Poco says, "You have to have stories about yourself." The theme is gently handled and never overburdens a fast-moving and suspenseful tale. As in the other well-written books in the series, Lisle sustains interest with a mystery but doesn't quite resolve all the questions at the end, leaving it to individual readers to bring their own understandings to the story. The characters are believable middle graders, each with their own idiosyncrasies, and the presence of Juliette, a remarkable Siamese, adds a further touch of magic and mystery.?Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City<br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  **Contents**
  
   _Begin Reading_
  
   ****
  
  “There was blood…Blood everywhere. But now the police are trying to cover it
  up.”
  
  Kendra Michaels stared at Janet Sanders in the parking lot outside her office.
  The woman was carrying on like a paranoid lunatic, but Kendra knew better. She
  had known Janet too long.
  
  “Slow down, Janet. Where was the blood?”
  
  Janet took a deep breath. “My fiancé’s house. I saw it three nights ago. I
  went over there and saw it. He was gone, but there was blood all over his
  kitchen floor and walls!” She shuddered. “It scared me, Kendra.”
  
  “Understandable.” Kendra was attempting to process the disturbing information
  Janet was hurling at her. She hadn’t even known her old friend had a fiancé.
  She certainly hadn’t expected to see Janet waiting for her outside the medical
  office building where Kendra based her music therapy practice. She had just
  seen her last client of the day and was heading to her car when Janet suddenly
  approached her.
  
  K