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Jane Haltmaier always loved writing, but it wasn’t until after retiring from a thirty-year career as an economist at the Federal Reserve Board that she finally had the time to pursue it fully. Inspired by her volunteer work at a residential village for abused children—where she led book clubs for teenage girls—Jane was moved to write a young adult novel of her own.
Drawing from living on a lake in Locust Grove, Virginia, her love of swimming, and memories of growing up in an old New England house, Jane weaves atmospheric settings with resilient, relatable characters. She believes the heart of a good story lies in protagonists who face challenges and rise to meet them.
Jane holds a Ph.D. in economics and has been married to her husband, John, for over forty years. She is the mother of three grown daughters and grandmother to one grandson. When she’s not writing, she enjoys making mosaics, playing the piano, swimming, volunteering, and spending time with her family.
Reviewed by Eric Ferrar for Readers' Favorite
In The Secret of Spirit Lake by Jane Haltmaier, the story moves between two girls living decades apart in the same lakeside house. In the present day, fourteen-year-old Amy struggles after her parents move the family to a small town in upstate New York to open a watersports store. She misses her old home and has trouble fitting in. Amy soon hears rumors that the old Victorian house she and her family moved into is haunted by a girl named Penny, who vanished in her own time. Back in 1938, Penny lost her parents in a fire and was sent to live with relatives in the same tower room Amy now has. At the same time, weird noises at night cause Amy and her friend, Marissa, to start looking for answers. Will Amy ever figure out what really happened to Penny?
The Secret of Spirit Lake by Jane Haltmaier is a young adult mystery that blends adventure, history, and an exciting ghost story. I was drawn into Amy's and Penny’s lives because their loneliness and teen struggles seemed very real to me. I was captivated by how both girls had to adjust to life changes they never asked for. The back-and-forth jumps between the different time periods made it fairly easy to understand how their stories connect. I quickly noticed that small details, such as the tower room and the lake, linked the past and present. These aspects made the story much more fascinating. Haltmaier writes in a way that kept me reading, and I enjoyed the big reveals. I could picture the house, the town, and the people, and even after finishing, I kept thinking about it all. Very highly recommended.
