This was a wonderful mix of mystery and heart. Ally Russel has a tremendous talent for blending the macacbre and melancholy with childhood wonder that always feels like truth. I can't wait for my conversation with her. Thanks again for the book!

MYSTERY JAMES DIGS HER OWN GRAVE is an MG mystery my library kiddos will love. It's a little scary, a little spooky, and lots of fun. Ally Russell has become an instant-buy author for me, and I just can't wait for all my students to follow Mystery to the cemetery and solve a mystery or two with my new favorite young sleuth.

Mystery was born in a cemetery and raised in a funeral home. Mystery is a strong and relatable heroine with a unique connection to the supernatural. The caretaker of the funeral home and cemetery raises her, and we as readers get an educational view of the inner workings of a funeral home. This unique setting for the book is what made the book stand out.

The author does a wonderful job of weaving in fresh ghost lore, particularly the idea that spirits have a distinctive, unpleasant smell, which adds a dimension to the haunting atmosphere. This is a second unique concept. The inclusion of sleep paralysis and night terrors provides an educational insight for middle grade readers without detracting from the suspense. It gave me chills reading about her sleep paralysis, and Mystery is such a strong character for what she goes through with that.

Mystery’s determination to clear her aunt’s name and save the family business gives a fast-paced plot filled with a graverobber and a chilling half-vampire, half-ghost. The third unique concept to the book is the half-vampire, half-ghost. The dynamic between Mystery and Garrett adds warmth and depth to the story.

This book is an engaging, quirky paranormal adventure with heart, perfect for middle grade readers who enjoy a spooky mystery with a strong female lead especially if you want to read about an author who has such an amazing imagination.

Mystery was abandoned as an infant and adopted by Tia Lucy, who runs the Garcia Graves and Funeral Home. She doesn't mind helping clean up the graveyard, although she and best friend Garrett sometimes get in trouble for accidental misbehavior. She struggles with nightmares, and has been able to smell ghosts for a while; whether this has anything to do with her unknown parentage is unclear. When Lady Ellis dies and her son contacts Tia Lucy for the funeral service, he requests that a necklace be buried with his mother even though one of his sisters would like it. Mystery herself puts it around the corpse's neck. When it shows up two towns away at an antique shop, Mr. Ellis blames Tia Lucy for the theft, even though other people were involved in getting the mother into the family crypt. Mystery, who has been bedeviled by sleep demons, is also haunted by the ghost of Lady Ellis, who tries to talk to her, although Mystery isn't quite sure what she wants. A granddaughter of the deceased, Eliza, is around, and Mystery would like to speak to her. WHen an even more frightening ghost/vampire, the Baron, shows up with hideous demands, Mystery has no choice but to help the ghoul find a "fresher" body, as well as his heart. Raymond, a local man who does odd jobs and occasionally helps Tia Lucy bury bodies, is also working with the Baron. Even though Raymond's involvement in these exploits could exonerate Tia Lucy and the funeral home from any wrong doing, Mystery doesn't want to bother her Aunt. Eventually, she goes to talk to Eliza at the Ellis mansion, and finds very interesting information about the Baron. The necklace was part of a binding spell to keep him contained, and when the necklace left the area, his spirit was set free. Eliza also identifies the Daddy Long Legs (whom Mystery has named Coffin) living in Mystery's hair as a "Harvestman". Sadly, once Mr. Ellis finds out that Mystery has visited, he forbids Eliza to see her again. With Garrett's help, Mystery manages to find that a large rock she's been trying to move is actually a gravestone with "May no place keep this foul soul and fiendish heart, 1863" engraved on it. This is where the Baron's body is, and Mystery manages to find cemetery records that indicate his heart is probably in the crypt with another Ellis. When the Baron taunts Mystery with information about her birth mother, will she be too weak to stop him from unleashing himself into the world? A sequel, Mystery James Returns from the Grave, is to be published in the fall of 2026.
Strengths: Russell's It Came From the Trees was a big hit with my students, with its mix off outdoor camping adventures and scary beasts kidnapping children. A look at a small town funeral home and cemetery will appeal to readers who are drawn to creepy things and love K.R. Alexander titles. It's good to see Garrett and Mystery work together, and to learn some ins and outs of funeral home life. The idea that ghosts not only have a semi-corporeal presence AND a distinctive, unpleasant smell was a nice twist on ghost lore-- after all, since they don't exist, authors can put their own spin on what ghosts are like. The Baron is fairly frightening, and the information from the 1860s was cool to read. For those who like low levels of gore, Mystery and Garrett do exhume a body and are surprised at how much flesh can linger on bones after 160 Plus years.
Weaknesses: I needed a LOT more information about the arachnid hiding out in Mystery's hair. It was just a bit odd, and I don't think an actual critter would be very comfortable there. The cover is somehow half a bubble off; maybe the Baron looks goofy rather than scary? There were some things that didn't make as much sense as I would have liked them to. For instance, if Tia Lucy adopted Mystery when she was an infant, why is she referred to as an aunt and not as a mother?
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want graveyard related spooky tales like Smy's The Hideaway, Aldridge's Deephaven or Fournet's Brick Dust and Bones. There aren't as many Goth/Wednesday Addams wannabes as there were twenty years ago.

Mystery, you in danger girl. So much constant danger. Can we talk about this cover? It's amazing and terrifying. The title is also very creative and really grabs your attention. Pre-teen Mystery works at her aunt's funeral home and cemetery. And she spends A LOT of time in the cemetery. Which is very cool. But I didn't like Mystery. She's irritating, ungrateful, and kind of dumb. I admired Tia Lucy and Garrett was a hoot. Taylor, who is barely in the book, is more interesting than Mystery. Baron was one nasty bastard for sure, definitely a scary character. This book will scare younger readers and they may not dislike Mystery's personality as much as me. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

My rating: 4.5
Mystery James was found abandoned in a cemetery as a baby and adopted by the funeral home director, Tía Lucy. Somehow, her life has only gotten stranger from there. She can smell ghosts, is haunted by a sleep paralysis demon, and trouble always has a way of finding her.
When an important family heirloom goes missing from one of the recently deceased, Tía Lucy takes the blame. To clear her aunt’s name and keep from losing their home, Mystery sets out to prove Lucy had nothing to do with the theft. But strange things are happening in the cemetery – things that Mystery finds herself in the middle of.
I fell in love with Mystery. She is just the right mix of headstrong, clever, and delightfully unusual to get herself into plenty of trouble. Mystery makes a solid addition to the pantheon of strong, spooky pop culture characters, beside Wednesday Addams and Lydia Deetz. There are plenty of scares and a lot of fun information sprinkled throughout. I would absolutely recommend Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave for any young reader who enjoys a twisty, creepy mystery and a relatable heroine. I am impatiently awaiting the sequel and hope for more.
Thank you to Random House Children’s and NetGalley for providing the e-arc for my honest review.

This book is pitched as Beetlejuice meets Wednesday. Going on vibes, I'd say that pitch is spot on. There's definitely room on the spooky MG shelf for this book. The cemetery atmosphere is nicely crafted and the way the supernatural elements are executed is quite enjoyable. But I found myself wishing for more...mystery? (No pun intended.)

I think this is a case of the back cover blurb not matching what's in the pages. The mystery promised to us seems to revolve around a missing heirloom, but the 'who' and the 'why' is solved almost immediately. The rest of the story follows a different "mystery" involving the supernatural but it's not one with a lot of clues to let the reader play along. Most of the conclusions Mystery comes to are due to things she's read/been told off screen before the book even starts. Hard to find that satisfying. And there are some loose ends that are left unresolved (mainly the story about Mystery's birth mother, I don't want to spoil but I expected a conclusion about the vision Mystery had).

That being said, I can still see this being a hit during Halloween season. And as someone who's adopted, I appreciate the way Mystery's curiosity about her birth mother is resolved at the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mystery James, you have my spooky heart!
🖤
This was such a fun and spooky read. Mystery (13yr old) was raised in a funeral home with her aunt (Tía Lucy). You could say Mystery is “weird and unusual” because she can see and smell ghosts!! She also spends a great deal of her time across the street at the cemetery. I don’t want to give away too much. But stop what you’re doing and preorder this Wednesday meets Beetlejuice children’s book 👻 there’s so much adventure, mystery and paranormal encounters. I also love the cool map. I love flipping back and forth and seeing where the characters travel.
🖤
Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced copy.


Goodreads: Brenda (Jadore_2Read)

This is a perfect middle grade horror book. I want to tear up thinking about the kids that will finally feel represented in a scary story and I’m so excited for the generation of horror readers that will be created by this book. It’s scary, it’s funny, it’s smart, it’s inspiring, I loved this book so much and I hope that it’s just the beginning of a series because all of these characters are just absolutely fantastic. I will be reading this to my class and recommending it to any and all middle graders interested in a good story!

Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave was a spooky little read filled with family, ghosts, an evil vampire and an arachnid named Coffin. This was such a fun read and I loved the funeral home and cemetery settings! Mystery was such a lovable main character. This is a perfect fall read for any age even though it's middle grade as it has adventure, grief and ghosts.

An entertaining read for fans of the supernatural, as well as otherwise scaredy-cats (like me!) who occasionally liked to be spooked! As someone who suffered from sleep paralysis as a child, the terror described by Russell is all too accurate—I had to remind myself that I was reading fiction, ha. I also appreciate the care with which the funeral home and its responsibilities are described, especially as an uncommon setting in young people's literature. The resolution, at least to this adult reader, felt a little pat, and I would've also loved a bit more character development for Tía Lucy, for instance. But this is Mystery's story after all, and an overall delightful one, at that.

Omg, this was such a fun read. I really enjoyed the historical aspect of how vampires were dealt with, and how Mystery navigated her ghost sensing powers as they grew. She acknowledged her fears, and learned from them to become a better version of herself with the help of Coffin and her friend Garrett.