The second book in the Lewis Barnavelt series, back to tie in with the film adaptation of the first book "The House With A Clock In Its Walls". Lewis discovers his grandpa's 1859 lucky coin, with events consequently taking a mysterious turn.

John Bellairs (1938-1991) was an award-winning American author of many gothic mystery novels for children and young adults, including The House with a Clock in Its Walls, which received both the New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year Award and the American Library Association Children's Books of International Interest Award, The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb, which won the Edgar Award and The Specter from the Magician's Museum, which won the New York Public Library 'Best Books for the Teen Age' Award.