title: The Best of John Bellairs: The House with a Clock in Its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows; The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring
author:  John Bellairs 
description: The House with a Clock in Its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows and The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring are three magically eerie tales gathered in this one-volume edition. The series opens as Lewis Barnavelt, a newly orphaned ten-year-old, comes to live with his Uncle Johnathan. Little does Lewis know that Uncle Johnathan and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmerman are witches. Lewis finds that he himself owns magical powers, and soon is thrust in a supernatural battle between good and evil. The second tale focuses on Grampa Barnavelt's old coin. Lewis thinks the coin is an amulet, but when he starts to wear it around his neck, bizarre things start to happen - and not all of them good. The last tale shifts the focus to thirteen-year-old Rose Rita, who is embittered because she cannot go to camp like Lewis. so Mrs. Zimmerman offers Rita an adventure of her own. But when a magical ring disappears, Rita gets more of an adventure than she bargained for. John Bellair's vivid characterization and and excruciatingly suspenseful plots make this series a thrilling ride!
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  ![Cover image for The Figure in the Shadows: Sequel to The House with a Clock
  in its Walls](../images/cover.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE FIGURE IN THE SHADOWS
  
  
  “A sequel to _The House With a Clock in Its Walls_ has the same cast: orphaned
  Lewis; Uncle Jonathan and his neighbor Mrs. Zimmermann, both benevolent
  sorcerers; and Lewis’s friend Rose Rita, who has all the nerve Lewis wishes he
  had. Lewis hopes the old coin in the trunk is an amulet. . . . It is magical,
  and it is evil; using it, Lewis evokes the shadowed figure of a ghost and puts
  himself in great danger. Again here . . . Bellairs combines effectively an
  aura of brooding suspense and . . . down to earth [characterization]. Smoothly
  contrapuntal, often amusing, and adroitly constructed and paced.”
  
  
  — _Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books_
  
  
  “Crisp prose and well-wrought suspense maintain the story’s pace. . . . An
  entertaining occult novel.”
  
  
  — _Booklist_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/ii-1.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE FIG