By Kristen Kiesling
Illustrated by Lesley Vamos
Lights Out: Mystery at the Meridian
(Oni Press, November 2027)
When the power suddenly goes out in the Meridian apartment building on Halloween, can three budding sleuths sniff out a crime perpetrated in the dark?
Spy School meets Only Murders in the Building in this marvelous middle-grade whodunit from Kristen Kiesling (The Harrowing) and Lesley Vamos (The Bizarre Bazaar), where friendship and puzzle solving crack the case!
Maria, Felix, and Damon may live in the same building but they don’t know each other, or that they are all avid players of the popular online mystery game Enigma. For these twelve-year-old puzzle solvers, Enigma is everything—online, they have picture-perfect lives, can befriend anyone, and are the best detectives this side of the Hudson River. But all that changes when a storm wipes out their building’s power and Wi-Fi, and now Maria, Felix, and Damon must step out of their gaming bubbles and enter the real world. Venturing out into the halls to trick-or-treat in the dark, the unlikely trio stumble upon injured resident curmudgeon Mr. DeGrynch. The police think it was an accident, but our trio suspects foul play.
Joined by loyal doggo Sleuth and armed with a makeshift detective command center, Maria, Felix, and Damon track down clues and culprits that all point to one thing . . . a crime was committed at the Meridian on Halloween night, and it’s up to them to solve it. But is our trio ready to finally swap their online game with IRL adventure?
Check out the exclusive preview from AIPT
Featured in Graphic Policy
Kristen Kiesling is extremely good at one thing—scaring herself. She grew up in Oklahoma, where she spent her days uncovering fictional truths, exploring mysterious forests, and solving imaginary crimes. A resident of Houston, Kristen writes graphic novels, young adult books and stories for children. Her debut YA graphic novel, The Harrowing, was published in the Spring of 2024 with Abrams’ Amulet, and her YA contemporary manuscript, If I Tell, won the 2020 SCBWI National Sue Alexander Award. She was awarded the 2019 SCBWI Nevada Mentorship and was a top twenty finalist for the Killer Nashville Claymore Award.