Elle is trying to start over with a new school year and she's putting the past behind her. The first step is putting her house up for sale as that is where the Charles was murdered. Now if only Charles's ghost would leave the house.

Except for the fact Elle will have a student named Sean, she's looking forward to the new school term. Sean's older brother Ty was just released from jail for murdering his father and within days strange things start happening including murder of the school principal in her office. And, of course, Elle is the one to find her as along with this murder several other murders take place. All the murders seemed tied to Ty, as all the victims were mean to him in the past. Could Ty be the one committing these murders?

Ty wants to meet with Elle as he feels that she was the only one who had been nice to him but Elle is very weary of this. She also notices Sean is coming to school with bruises. Is Ty hitting his brother, or is the mother who has a drinking problem taking things out on Sean? Katie, Ty and Sean's sister, picks Sean up every day, but Sean always seems to back away from her. Elle decides to report the fact that Sean is covered with bruises to the school nurse. Child services steps in so Katie and Sean are taken away from their mother.

Wow, CHILD'S PLAY was so great. Merry Jones really writes a suspenseful book that kept me guessing all the way to the end. There are so many twists and turns that right when I thought I knew who was committing these murders, I was proven wrong. I love reading a fast-paced twisty suspense, so Merry Jones is definitely one writer I would love to read again.

I enjoy reading mystery and suspense books and Merry Jones has written twenty books. I am going to the library to find more of them. If all of her books are as great as CHILD'S PLAY, Merry Jones will become my favorite suspense novelist and I'll be able to keep my evenings filled with suspense trying to keep a step ahead.