Sebastian Barth

Series · 4 books · 1985-1990

By James Howe

Books in series

What Eric Knew

1985

Who pushed Eric down the stairs? Right before he moved away, Sebastian Barth's friend Eric had an unfortunate accident. Now he's sending Sebastian mysterious notes hinting it wasn't an accident at all. Was it the ghost in the cemetery? Was Eric's accident linked to the ghost that' haunting the cemetary? Sebastian doesn't really believe in ghosts, but he's seen the shadowy figure in black and heard her moan and cries. What did Eric know? If Sebastian and his friends can decode Eric's strange notes, maybe they can solve the mystery of the ghost. But before Sebastian discovers what Eric knew, he must face a modern day evil more dangerous than any ghost from the past.

Eat Your Poison, Dear

1986

Cafeteria food may be hazardous to your health. Poor Milo Groot—he's sprawled on the cafeteria floor, his cracked glasses inches away from his white face. Could it be the apple chili dogs? Could it be poison? Kids at the middle school are dropping like flies, and Sebastian Barth suspects there's something fishier than tuna dreamboats behind the epidemic. The trouble is, too many cooks have had the chance to spoil the stew. Sebastian finds out. At least he thinks he does, but he soon discovers that whipping up a dramatic disclosure without all the ingredients is a recipe for disaster.

Stage Fright

1990

First there were mysterious messages. Someone who knows a lot about movie star Michaele Caraway's past is sending her unsigned notes. At first they appear to be innocent fan letters, but then they turn threatening. Next the accidents started happening. To someone as superstitious as Michaele, it seems as if her new play is jinxed. But Sebastian Barth knows the backstage mishaps aren't accidents at all. Who's out to get the movie star? Sebastian has to find the answer, or opening night may mean the final curtain for the star.

Dew Drop Dead

1990

Something strange is going on at the Dew Drop Inn. The hand-lettered wooden sign dangles from a broken, rusty chain; the lawn is overgrown; the paint is peeling; the whole place looks forlorn and abandoned. But one of the boarded-up windows of the old inn has been forced open, and Sebastian and his friends decide to investigate. What will they find? Nervously, they follow the flickering beam of Sebastian's flashlight to the only open doorway. They huddle together as the light bounces eerily off objects in the room. Then it catches something... There's a body on the bed! But by the time the terrified sleuths bring the police back to see their horrifying discovery, the body is gone! A dead body can't disappear—or can it?

Author

James Howe

Author · 69 books

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information. James Howe has written more than eighty books in the thirty-plus years he's been writing for young readers. It sometimes confuses people that the author of the humorous Bunnicula series also wrote the dark young adult novel, The Watcher, or such beginning reader series as Pinky and Rex and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award-winning Houndsley and Catina and its sequels. But from the beginning of his career (which came about somewhat by accident after asking himself what kind of vampire a rabbit might make), he has been most interested in letting his imagination take him in whatever direction it cared to. So far, his imagination has led him to picture books, such as I Wish I Were a Butterfly and Brontorina (about a dinosaur who dreams of being a ballerina), mysteries, poetry (in the upcoming Addie on the Inside), and fiction that deals with issues that matter deeply to him. He is especially proud of The Misfits, which inspired national No Name-Calling Week (www.nonamecallingweek.org) and its sequel Totally Joe. He does not know where his imagination will take him in the next thirty-plus years, but he is looking forward to finding out. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.