Evie Von Rathe has been home for only a few weeks from her adventure in the strange world of seven houses when Blight Harbor’s beloved ghosts begin to disappear. Did they leave without saying goodbye, or has something gone horribly wrong? Soon Evie is invited to a mysterious council meeting, where she learns about the Dark Sun Side and a terrible secret.
Yes, the ghosts have gone missing. And that means serious trouble.
With the help of an eleven-year-old (or 111-year-old, but who’s counting) ghost named Lark, trusty Bird, and a plump ghost spider, Evie must find a way to defeat the vicious Nighthouse Keeper responsible for the missing ghosts, save her otherworldly friends, and find her way home from the Dark Sun Side before she’s trapped there forever.
Last year (that feels ridiculous to write in early January, but somehow here we are in 2026) I read Lora Senf’s THE CLACKITY and adored the book. The spooky/cozy/emotional vibes of the book were off the charts & I would for sure say it was one of my favorite middle grade horror reads of the year.
BLIGHT HARBOR is a four book series (last year’s PENNIES is a prequel to THE CLACKITY) and I’m really hoping to finish all these books somewhat soon! There’s another multi-book MG horror series I really want to start (GRAVEYARD GIRLS by Lisi Harrison and Daniel Kraus), but I think I want to finish the BLIGHT HARBOR series first, so here’s hoping!
THE NIGHTHOUSE KEEPER picks up almost immediately where THE CLACKITY left off, so if you thought Senf was going to give you a little breather, think again!
Evie Von Rathe has seemingly defeated the Clackity, but now there’s a new calamity facing Blight Harbor: many of the town’s friendly ghost inhabitants have gone missing. It’s up to Evie to venture back into the strange & dangerous Dark Sun Side and attempt to unravel the mystery of what happened to all the ghosts.
This one introduces a creepy new villain in the form of Portia, who strikes an unsettling bargain with Evie. And while in the Dark Sun Side, Evie also meets a really interesting new friend, Lark. Lark is…not quite living & not quite dead, but something in between. But she’s right around Evie’s age & it was great to see Evie get to interact with someone in a similar age group. There’s some friction between the two as they navigate one perilous & scary situation after another, but I really liked the dynamics of this new friendship.
There’s great, yet very unusual, animal companions in this one! There’s a ghost spider & then of course, there’s Bird. I mean, as if Evie could be any cooler, she has a supernatural tattoo of a bird who sort of becomes the voice of reason at times.
I think if I had one complaint with the book it’s that I really wish we had spent more time in Blight Harbor. I think the town itself is such a captivating, wonderful setting. I want to know every corner of this place. But we’re barely in Blight Harbor proper before getting whisked away to the Dark Sun Side. Which is, ostensibly, a part of Blight Harbor, but like a funhouse mirror/nightmare version.
Also, how about a moment to appreciate the utterly GORGEOUS cover art for this series by Alfredo Cáceres. These books have some of the most striking, evocative, and just plain beautiful covers I’ve seen. The art just jumps out and grabs you, and the depictions of Evie are totally spot-on.
I really love this series a lot so far. I think Lora Senf is a phenomenal writer, and she writes Evie in such a thoughtful, incredibly human way. There’s always a lingering sadness to Evie, as she continues her quest to understand what happened to her parents. Really, trying to solve the mystery of her parents’ disappearance becomes her North Star in a massive way in book two, and suggests that that will be the focus of the final book of the trilogy. I’m really hoping to get to THE LONELIEST PLACE in the next few weeks & see how Evie’s story ends!
P.S. like I did with THE CLACKITY, I listened to some of THE NIGHTHOUSE KEEPER on audiobook & it’s just so good. Kimberly Woods is the perfect narrator for this story, and so to me, she is Evie Von Rathe. Can’t recommend these books enough on audio!
Grimdark Dad 