I really don't enjoy Hautala's books. This one...it's not a mystery (it doesn't count if the characters know what happened and just refuse to tell the readers), it's not really horror though that's a lot of the flavor. It's certainly not a book I'd give a kid, so not YA. I have no idea what he was aiming for, but as far as I'm concerned he missed all the marks. The story is almost horror - there's certainly a lot of horrific elements. But what makes something horror to me is people being helpless - and there's no people here. Nothing but wooden puppets twitching to the author's orders. They do/say/think whatever fits in this paragraph - never mind what they did/said/thought a few paragraphs ago. The stories make no sense, the "threats" are utterly random (how did she help all those others she claims to, if she has to spend all her time hiding from the Reverend in the cemetery?), there are scenes seen from one point of view and then another with completely different things happening (her first meeting with Jim, for instance - did his mother come in before he spoke to Abby, or not? One version has her, the other doesn't mention her at all). The crime was pretty obvious from the start - if you accept Hautala's nasty view of people. I admit I skimmed between her meeting with Jim and the final trick; but nothing at the end was in any way surprising, and I don't think I missed anything. This is clearly a setup for a whole series of these "mysteries", and I will not be reading any of them. Or anything else by this author. ( )

I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Take a mystery, add a ghost into it, tack on a murder and you have the makings of an excellent book.
Abby is a ghost who lives in a cemetery in the Dead Lands. She’s been dead for over 100 years. She’s not sure why, unlike the many that she helps, she’s been unable to move on. She sleeps until she hears a mockingbird sing, which signals that someone needs her help. This time it is Meagan who has shown up. Abby quickly whisks her into the cemetery. Why? Abby’s uncle George Wheeler, who was once a pastor chases Abby along with his Hell Hounds. He’s determined to get her to come to his side of things. Abby must help Meagan find out who murdered her and help her get justice. She must do this all without being caught by her uncle. Abby has a protector who quickly comes to her aid. She doesn’t know who he is or when he will show up but he does. There is a second story line that flows through this story. Jim Burke purchased a locket that used to belong to Abby. Inside the locket is a strand of hair and a key. He was originally going to buy it for his mother because she like it, but decided to keep it because he feels strangely drawn to it. This connection is what allows him to see Abby, something no other living being has been able to accomplish. We are left at the end of the book with Meagan’s mystery solved, but not Abby’s. This is a great set up for a second book. It can be read as a stand-alone book.

When I went in search of this author who was new to me, I was saddened to learn he had died of a heart attack in 2013. I love his book and would have gladly read the entire series. It was so good that it only took me a couple of hours to read it. Now we will never have the answers to the questions we had at the end of the book about Abby and her uncle. I will recommend this to all of my students. It is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. ( )

I received this book from Library Thing Early Reviewers. The Dead Lands is about Abby who in the Dead Lands and helps people who have unfinished business on Earth. Abby meets Meagan and tries to help her. Meagan is not sure if her death was an accident, or something much worse. The Abby's Evil Uncle George Wheeler chases her with his Hell Hounds. Then a mysterious protector comes to Abby's aid.

I found this book to be diffiuclt to put down. It was scary and suspenseful. I thought this book had an interesting take on the afterlife. ( )

I enjoyed The Dead Lands by Rick Hautala, an interesting take on the afterlife where Abby solves the murder of a young girl who can not move on. ( )

I liked this book even if it wasn't quite the mystery I thought it would be. It did give a different look at the aspect of being dead that was interesting. I didn't know that it was in a series, but now I am ready to read the next one. ( )

There's a lot of explaining and wondering about what the afterlife is all about. As a mystery, it's fine for a young reader. Not too scary. The ending leaves unresolved loose ends. ( )

I received this ebook through Early Reviewers and just finished it last night. It was a mix of murder mystery and ghost story and had a sad and haunting quality that fit the book's theme. I found it to be a quick read and I wanted to keep turning the pages to see what would happen next.

The book has an interesting take on a sort of Purgatory called The Dead Lands, in which souls need to accept their death and resolve any issues that are holding them back from their final destination. There are Reapers who take the souls onward to a place of light or shadows and a dead girl named Abby who has existed in the small cemetary since her death in a shipwreck over 100 years before. She lies in a sort of dead-sleep until she hears a mockingbird singing and then finds herself awake as a ghost. For reasons she doesn't understand, Abby has not moved on and instead she tries to help those who are newly dead and confused. The story begins when she hears a mockingbird and discovers Megan, a girl newly dead, who is similar in age to herself.

Abby realizes that Megan can't move on until she accepts that she was murdered and together they work to discover the identity of her killer and a way to find justice for her death. Along the way Abby must avoid her uncle, who was also killed in the same shipwreck, and who has become an evil and threatening entity who hunts her every night with his Hell Hounds but is unable to enter the little cemetary in which Abby is buried. Abby is also drawn to a boy who purchases a locket that used to belong to her and holds a mysterious key and a lock of her hair.

I found the book to be quite sad, both for Megan who has to deal with being killed at such a young age, and also for Abby who is unable to move on and doesn't know why. The description of the Reapers and of her uncle are creepy and mysterious. Clearly this was intended to become the first book in a series, but the author has since passed away, so unfortunately a lot of questions that are raised in this book about Abby will never be answered. Her memories of the past are interesting, although quite sad as well. I would've liked to have read more about her and what the locket and key meant to her and why it was keeping her trapped. ( )

This was a fairly quick and reasonably entertaining read, though I found some of the writing unduly simplistic and overly repetitive, to the extent that it became distracting. I would have been interested in on-going plot lines but unfortunately that is not to be, I think my interest was maintained knowing that this is one of the authors last published works.

I found this to be an interesting read. It tells the story of a young girl named Abby that died long ago in a shipwreck. Since then she helps others who have difficulty crossing over from this world into the afterlife. In this instance Abby meets another young girl Megan and helps her come to terms with her death, while at the same time dealing with her own troubles. ( )

Like another reviewer, I see some similarity to The Lovely Bones. The quality of writing is not up to Sebold's standards, but it is an entertaining read none the less. However as it was the opening book of what was to be a series there is the beginning of a number of interesting plot lines which would have been developed in future volumes which, following Hautala's untimely death will not new be written (unless, he too finds a way of composing emails from the grave....)

As well as interesting ideas about the afterlife, it also illustrates some of the dangers of presuppositions in questions of child abuse.

One significant weakness - I am still not sure the motive for the murder makes much sense. ( )

In Rick Hautala’s novel “The Dead Lands,” (JournalStone) Abby Cummings died in the nineteenth century but her soul still lingers around the graveyard where she is buried. She sees the Reapers take other souls away, but for some reason, hers remains trapped. Abby’s uncle also died when she did, and he continues to try to take her away, but she resists, because though he was a preacher in life, in death he serves a dark master.

But Abby’s existence isn’t without meaning, as teenager Megan McGowan finds herself in the Dead Lands, and doesn’t understand where she is or how she got there, and Abby helps her learn that she is dead. There is a mystery behind Megan’s death, and Abby wants to help her solve it so that Megan can find peace and be taken by the Reapers.

While the story is enjoyable, there seemed to be a lot of repeating of the same information, and I felt like not that much really went on. I didn’t mind reading it, but I felt this could have been done better. ( )

This is a great novel about a girl lost in the deal lands. She is dead from 100 years and is yet to receive judgement (Means yet to be awarded with Hell Or Heaven). This ghost girl just wonders around the 'place around her grave' (which she calls The Dead Lands). She cant talk to anybody living and cant even touch anything. She is always wondering how can she stand on the earth and not just sink into it.
The Author has depicted her (after)life as a guide to other ghosts (recently died persons) helping them to finish their unfinished tasks. And in the Meantime is searching for her unfinished task in the world that is keeping her in the dead lands. ( )

I don't commonly read this genre, and the author didn't ring a bell. After reading the book, I looked him up on Wikipedia and discovered he had died about a year ago at age 63. This book was apparently the first in an intended series, but complete none the less. What shocked me most is that Rick Hautala was rather celebrated in his genre. Even though the book was about teenage ghosts, it really didn't need to read as if it was written by a teenager.

One girl, dead over 100 years, rises in ghost form from the grave to greet another recently dead girl about her own age. The second girl comes to terms with her being dead rather readily. Abby, 100 years a ghost teen, becomes her guide in "the dead lands", a sort of purgatory inhabited by reapers who escort recently deceased up or down as the case might be. Abby is unsure why she is still there, and a demon from her past, a preacher uncle, torments her when given the opportunity. That thread is never resolved in the book.

Megan, the recently dead girl, is the victim of a rather weak murder mystery. The ghosts pretty much make sure the mystery is never a head-scratcher, we know pretty early on who did it and why. They manage to contrive events in the land of the living so the perp doesn't get away with the crime. That they could do so in of itself was a contrivance, and "foreshadowing" by having Abby constantly say "I'll tell you about that later" gets tedious, quickly.

There's no indication that this book was written to target an adolescent audience, but I can't imagine adult readers being very engaged in the story. While I was saddened to hear the author is no longer with us, I would not have been surprised to learn he was exceptionally young. I'm not really interested in reading any more of his books, but I'll allow for the possibility that he intentionally wrote this for a very young audience. ( )

I have received this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. It was an enjoyable read with a good and clear story line. The book read with teens and/or preteens opens up a good discussion subject about the afterlife and the departed ones. It is sad that Mr. Hautala has passed and he cannot continue his story. As I can see the story is open to further "adventures" or a prologue. I would recommend this book for a book club reading too. ( )

This was an interesting read, to say the least. Abby is trapped in the area between life and the finality of death, and does not know why. She helps others figure out why they are trapped in what is known as the Dead Lands, even though she herself cannot figure out what is going on with her passage. Abby’s uncle is evil through and through and pursues her even into the Dead Lands, and she only survives because of a mysterious protector. One thing I found disturbing is the fact that we never do know the answers to Abby’s questions about why she is trapped in the Dead Lands, and probably will never know. In this story, Abby helps Megan McGowan, who fell to her death at on the Mockingbird Bay, ME rocky shores. With the help of a friend, Abby and Megan figure out why she has stayed on in the Dead Land, so she can move forward. However, we never do find out Abby’s story or why she cannot leave the Dead Lands. The book was well written and had interesting and well-developed characters. However, this sort of mystery cum horror is generally not my choice reading, though I did enjoy this book. I thought the setting of Maine, with its rocky shores and sometimes turbulent weather was a good setting and lent some mystery and excitement to the story. Will I read more from this author? I am not sure at this point, though the reader who enjoys this type of mystery horror will definitely enjoy this book. I received this from Library Thing to read and review. ( )

This book was quite interesting and I would have loved to read a book 2. I found it quite a nice coincidence that the author wrote about the dead before passing himself. I would happily recommend this book. ( )

This book is both about Abby, a young girl drowned in a shipwreck a hundred years ago or so, and Megan, the newly dead girl she tries to help "cross over". Abby calls the area she inhabits "dead lands". Usually only those already dead can see her, but she finds a "live one" who can talk to her. I think she was going to enlist his aid to help solve her mystery, which is the secondary mystery in this book, but I think the author has since died, so maybe we'll never know. It's a shame, because I felt this was a good murder mystery and thoroughly enjoyed it. ( )

Reading this was a little like being served Korean barbecue when I was in the mood for my mother's channa and aloo -- I'll probably try it again when I'm in a different mood and enjoy it greatly, but right now, though I'm full, it didn't quite hit the spot. The story is really two stories entwined; I would have enjoyed that more had one of them not been left unresolved. The killer's unmasking unfolds quite well, without too many obvious writer tricks. The girls' supernatural peril is mostly believable, and the resolution that does come is satisfying. If you don't loathe cliffhangers, this book is a great way to pass a couple of hours. ( )

I really enjoyed this read. We often wonder what happens when people die, and this book is an interesting take on that. I found Abby a mysterious, yet compassionate person, who was troubled and confused by her role in the Dead Lands and wanted desperately to cross over. Her helping others is great for her to see but saddening as well. I wish there were to be further books in this series, as I would love to know what happens. A great read for all ages. ( )

At first I thought that this story was going to be similar to "The Lovely Bones". But, it's got it's own twists. Abby died long ago in a ship wreck. Prevented from "moving on", she calls a New England cemetery "home" and helps others who are similarly trapped. In this installment (for a series is implied) she helps a murdered sixteen year old cope with her new status as newly dead, and find out what happened to her. Another (living) teen is able to communicate with Abby and aids the girls' quest.

Abby has her own troubles, besides trying to understand why she is "stuck" in the Dead Lands - her uncle is a vicious, evil entity who is pursuing her.

I found this book to be a page-turner, and am certainly looking forward to the next installment! ( )

Suffers from confused plotting, sloppy editing, and inconsistent characterisation, where there's much sense of character at all. The writing is all tell and no show - repeated mentions of how characters are feeling but no evidence to show they really do feel that way. I ended up skimming most of the book, and there were no surprises in the mystery at all. I haven't read Rick Hautala before, and honestly, based on this, I'm not going to again. ( )

The Dead Lands, by Rick Hautala, tells the story of Abby, a 16-year-old girl who died well over 100 years ago. Every now and then, a mockingbird sings by her grave and Abby "wakes up" into what she calls the Dead Lands, a sort of ghostly region between the living world and the true afterlife. Generally she finds a newly dead soul who needs her help to resolve a problem and move on to the next world; in this story, she finds Megan, a young girl who dies after falling, or jumping, from a cliff overlooking the Atlantic - or was she, instead, pushed? It is up to Abby to help Megan find out, and maybe in helping her to resolve that mystery, Abby will find clues as to why she herself never seems able to move on, out of the Dead Lands and into another place.... The subtitle of this book is "A Mockingbird Bay Mystery," suggesting the first book in a projected series; sadly, Mr. Hautala died in 2013, and I believe this was his final book. Unfortunately, it's not a great legacy to leave: I had the impression that the book needed at least one more draft and some more careful editing before it should have been published. There is a lot of sloppy writing here, for example confusion as to which of Megan's two sneakers fell off in her flight prior to death, an important plot point that should have been more consistent throughout. In addition, a ghost of a young girl who died in the 1870s is not likely to say things like "no way!" even if she has been trying to keep up with changes in the way the living speak. More importantly, the motive given for the murder ("you did it for the money!") is not explained - what money? It's a shame because I've liked Hautala's work in the past, but this foray into the YA market just doesn't work. ( )

I won a free copy of The Dead Lands by Rick Hautala recently. After finishing it all I can say is that I wish there were going to be a series, as planned, but Mr. Hautala has since passed away. The Dead Lands is an interesting take on life (such as it is) after death through the eyes of Abby, a young woman who is over one hundred years gone. Abby’s guess as to why she remains is that she is supposed to help those having a hard time crossing over to the next life. In particular, Abby helps a young girl, Megan, accept the facts of her murder. There is much pain in Abby’s history, which gives her empathy for others struggling to accept what life/death has dealt them. While Megan’s story has a very satisfying ending, the mystery of Abby’s past, especially what ties her to the current world, will never have resolution. The setting in Maine, with its rocky coast and changeable weather, adds to the haunting quality of the story. A nicely moody read overall. ( )

In a place Abby calls the Dead Lands, she aids individuals trapped by unfinished Earthly business and helps them move on.

Abby meets Megan McGowan there, a sixteen-year-old girl who fell to her death on the rocky shores of Mockingbird Bay. Megan can’t remember if it was an accident…or something worse. With the help of Jim Burke, a young man who becomes a close friend, Abbey works to discover how Megan became trapped in this empty place.

But Abby has other troubles -- her uncle, the Reverend George Wheeler, evil and vengeful, pursues her with his Hell Hounds through the twilight realms of the Dead Lands, waiting for her at every turn. Fortunately a mysterious protector helps her evade her uncle’s terrible revenge.

Who is this spirit protector? And will Abby ever gain release from this unchained prison? ( )