The House with No Keys by Lindsay Currie

This the to The Mystery of Locked Rooms follows the famous Deltas as they race to complete the most challenging escape room they've ever faced...and confront their fears in order to save their friendship.

It's been just over a year since Sarah, Hannah, and West made it through the epic funhouse that changed their lives forever. Since then, the three best friends have been working for Mr. William Taters, the owner of that very funhouse, renamed The Delta Game, and completing every challenging escape room they can.

But then a strange invitation shows up from the ominous and cryptic owner of a new funhouse—The Mystery Mansion.

The Mystery Mansion claims to be the biggest and best escape house ever, and it's opening just miles away from The Delta Game. The mysterious owner has invited the trio to come test it on opening day, offering a ten-thousand-dollar prize if they successfully escape. The prize is exciting, but the three friends don't want to be a walking advertisement for a competitor to their beloved The Delta Game.

But maybe the only way to keep their funhouse in business is to accept the invite, escape the mansion in record time, and show just how boring and easy it is by comparison. The trio arrive on opening day, armed with their "fortune favors the bold" attitude. 

Unfortunately, their plan quickly goes awry. Secrets threaten their friend group, nothing in the house is as it seems, and this time, not everyone is playing fair…

Kindle edition, 250 pages

Published September 30, 2025 

by Sourcebooks Young Readers

3/5 stars

I'll admit up front, this one's been sitting in my queue for a while. It published back in September 2025, and I'm just now getting to it, so consider this fashionably late. Sometimes the back-list wins.

It's been just over a year since Sarah, West and Hannah escaped the funhouse that changed their lives in book one, The Mystery of Locked Rooms. Since then, the trio has been working for William Taters, owner of that same fun house, now branded as The Delta Game.  They tackle every escape room challenge they can find. 

In this sequel, a mysterious invitation pulls them into testing a brand-new escape house nearby, one that claims to be the biggest and best in the business.

This time around, we get a lot more insight into West and Hannah, to what's  actually going on in their lives and why the cash prize for beating this new escape house matters so much to them. Without giving too much away, it adds a layer beyond "can they solve the puzzles."

Overall, The House with No Keys is a solid follow-up that gives its sequel the room to breathe rather than just retreading the first book's formula.  It's a quick read, but not a shallow one, and it left me curious about where the Deltas go next.

My thank you to Sourcebooks Kids for a digital arc in exchange for a honest review.

The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie

Three friends team up to find a hidden treasure in an abandoned 1940s fun house.

Twelve-year-old Sarah Kelley wants nothing more from her seventh-grade year than to beat the hardest escape room left in her town with her best friends West and Hannah. But when her house receives a foreclosure notice everything changes. After her father became ill two years ago, things have been bad, but she did not think they would become lose-your-house bad.

She feels helpless until the day Hannah mentions a treasure rumored to be hidden in the walls of an abandoned fun house. According to legend, Hans, Erik, and James Halloran were orphaned at eight years old and lived with different families until they were able to reunite as adults. Their dream was to build the best fun house in existence. They wanted the experience to be more than mirror mazes and optical illusions, so they not only created elaborate riddles and secret passages, but they also claimed to have hidden a treasure inside. Sarah, West, and Hannah decide to explore, but once in, they realize the house is unlike any escape room they've attempted.

Hardcover, 256 pages

Published April 2, 2024

 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

3.5/5 stars

I received this book in a Once Upon a BookClub box last year. I myself have never been in an escape room, it sounds like fun and maybe one day I’ll try it.  This book really went into great detail as to what it was like.

How fun as 12 year-olds to explore an abandoned Funhouse in search of hidden treasure. Which is exactly what Sarah did with her two best friends, West and Hannah. The motivation is that her home is in foreclosure and she is hoping to help her family out financially by discovering this lost treasure - they don't even know what the treasure is.

Taking place mostly over the day that they are searching gave the explicit workings of an escape room, the clues, the riddles, the adventure and even the risks.  It is a story of friendship, family and the bonds that keep them together. This was a fun read for the middle grade audience.

I have previously read a Lindsey Curry novel which I enjoyed and look forward to seeing some of her  backlist. 

This book was part of my 2025 reading of my shelf challenge and his book #11.

What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie

Welcome to the decrepit Woodmoor Manor…where something in the woods is always watching. From the author of Scritch Scratch comes a chilling middle grade story about a creepy mansion and sinister creatures in the woods

All Ginny Anderson wants from her summer is to relax. But when Ginny's father—a respected restoration expert in Chicago—surprises the family with a month-long trip to Michigan, everything changes. They aren't staying in a hotel like most families would. No, they're staying in a mansion. A twenty-six room, century-old building surrounded by dense forest. Woodmoor Manor.

Locals claim the surrounding woods are inhabited by mutated creatures that escaped a mad scientist over a hundred years ago. And some say campers routinely disappear never to be seen again.

When the creaky floors and shadowy corners of the mansion seem to take on a life of their own, Ginny uncovers the wildest mystery of all: there's more than one legend roaming Saugatuck, Michigan, and they definitely aren't after campers.

They're after her.

Format320 pages, Paperback

Expected publication: September 14, 2021

by Sourcebooks Young Readers

4/5 stars

This book was wacked out spooky in parts.  I started reading in the dark when insomina hit, well I definitely couldn't fall back to sleep for a while.  

The whole book isn't always spooky but rather a great mystery with a ghosty presence and a 12 year old Agatha Christie fan.  Ginny didn't want to spend a month in this house when her plans for the summer included a writing class and hanging out with friends back home.

This is my my first time reading Lindsay Currie and I enjoyed the ride. It was descriptive, setting the vibe for an old mansion with secrets and red herrings.  With a small town setting, new friends - both real and not, this book is  geared for a middle grade audience. It's a story of family and friends, sacrifice and acceptance with closure.  

What Lives in the Woods releases in a couple days.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Kids for a digitial ARC (via Netgalley) in exchange for an honest review.