The Agony House is a clever little ghost story, written for young-adult readers, set in a ramshackle, 19th-century residence in a depressed neighborhood of New Orleans. Denise Farber, who was born in the city, was raised in Houston, Texas, by her mom after Hurricane Katrina forced them out -- and cost Denise her father and grandmother, both of whom died in the flood. Now, Denise, her mom Sally and her stepdad Mike are back with plans to renovate the dilapidated three-story Victorian home as a bed-and-breakfast inn.

But it seems like one or two former residents of the house are still lurking in its musty halls. One hums and smells faintly of flowers. Another seems angry and possessive of the house, and that's where Denise's troubles begin.

Actually, things start to go sideways when she gives a tour of the very scary attic to a newfound neighborhood friend, Terry, who's convinced (rightly so, it turns out) that the place is haunted. In the attic, they discover a concealed manuscript of an unpublished, pre-Comics Code Authority comic book by the late Joe Vaughn. Titled "Lucida Might & the House of Horrors," it is the final chapter in a series of books about a young female detective and adventurer and her hapless dude-in-distress boyfriend.

Reading the manuscript seems to unleash one hidden spirit's rage.

Cherie Priest is gifted when it comes to building atmosphere, and she certainly brought her A-game to The Agony House. Scenes set in the crumbling mansion invariably left me wanting to take a shower, certain that I was covered in dust, mold spores and things that scurry through the shadows on far too many legs. (Any scene that involved food usually made me crave green vegetables; Denise, her family and friends mostly live on pizza and fried food, it seems -- at least until the kitchen gets renovated.)

The book nicely builds tension as Denise and her friends discover more about the house's history and the person -- or people -- who died there. A nice touch is the inclusion of pages from "The House of Horrors" in comic-book form (illustrated for the book in shades of blue and black by Tara O'Connor).

The Agony House is a fast and easy read, but the story is quite engrossing and suspenseful. I'm not easily spooked, but I felt a little uneasy while reading alone in a dark house one evening -- and that's good writing.

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