Margaret Buffie plunges us deep into her heroine’s first full-fledged crippling panic attack. Fifteen-year-old Addy Jarrick has just moved to Winnipeg with her mom and is suddenly incapable of returning to school. She absolutely cannot go “Out There.” Addy scrambles feverishly back into her second-floor flat, desperately trying to avoid their landlord and the quirky third-floor tenant. You’re on edge for this kid from the word go. Using the immediacy of first-person narration, Addy’s panic is beautifully realized. “Fear wasn’t new to me,” she admits. “All my life I’d been afraid.” We believe her, feel for her.

But, this being a Buffie book, psychological drama is not enough; there’s also a paranormal component. A mysterious room on their floor is being used as storage for the personal belongings of the house’s original owner, Lotta Engel. The room also houses an articulate loony parrot named Victor. This moulting pet of Lotta’s is blessed with all the best lines and clues about the mystery of her tragic life. The “angels” turn up in a series of Lotta’s exquisite needlepoint canvases. Soon Addy is hearing voices, feeling Lotta’s presence. Was Lotta demented and deranged, or is Addy?

The story is peopled with likeably flawed major and minor characters. Buffie resists the temptation to make cartoons of Addy’s angry divorcing parents. Another plus is that Lotta’s story never threatens to overtake Addy’s.

The chills are warmer than a horror story in this tale, which is first and foremost a good story. It will certainly satisfy Buffie fans.