Eboch crafts an exciting narrative with a richly textured depiction of ancient Mayan society. Kirkus Reviews called The Well of Sacrifice, ' engrossing first novel. THE WELL OF SACRIFICE is a middle grade drama set in ninth-century Guatemala. The kids try to help the ghosts, while keeping their activities secret. In each book, the TV show researches a new ghost at a new location.

The series, for ages 8-12, will debut in August with two books, The Ghost on the Stairs and The Phantom Pilot. Her upcoming series, HAUNTED, is about a brother and sister who travel with their parents' ghost hunter TV show. Eboch is a pen name for Chris Eboch, the author of a dozen books. An author's note describes the historical context for the tale. Watching this unorthodox 12-year-old girl outwit a high priest, escape jail, rescue her sister and more makes for a fast-paced read.

He danced with blood pouring down his chest''). Readers may blanch at some of the descriptions of ceremonies and sacrifices (''The king pulled the end of the rope through his tongue and dropped it into the bowl. Here, fathers wear green quetzal feathers mothers cook tortillas, pumpkin and papaya and beautiful girls with slanted foreheads wear rings in their noses and heavy jade and gold jewelry that pulls down their earlobes. Eboch cushions a plot of treachery and heroism with lush details of daily life in a ninth-century Mayan city that's beginning to crumble. But when the ailing king dies and his high priest, Great Skull Zero, commands that all possible successors be thrown into the well of sacrifice to drown or be saved by the gods, Eveningstar vows to save her brother-and to stop Feather from being married off to the conniving Zero. Her older sister, Feather Dawn, self-absorbed and haughty, has two redeeming virtues: her skill at the loom and her beauty. Her brother, Smoke Shell, possesses the leadership qualities of a fearless noble who may one day sit on the throne. Eveningstar, a resourceful and spunky girl, lives in a lavish city of gold near the jungle.

First novelist Eboch accomplishes quite a feat here: he manages to make the bloodletting rituals and human sacrifice practices of the Mayans the central point of this novel, yet creates a character readers will care deeply about: Eveningstar Macaw.

The Well of Sacrifice by Chris Eboch