Larry, who [narrates Dracula, Go Home!], is spending the summer helping his aunt run a hotel. He's convinced there's something eerie about the tall, secretive man who rents a room as A. R. Claud: Why does the man never use the hotel dining room? Why does he prowl about in the dark? And why does nobody ever see Claud coming down the stairs? Larry investigates old local papers and looks over the hotel register, discovering that the same handwriting as Claud's has been used for other names—always the same room. Is he really a vampire? No, but he is a criminal. There's some humor and plenty of action, some suspense, and certainly an element of mystery in a not-very-convincing story that will probably appeal to many readers because of the brisk pace and the suggestion of looming danger. Since the vocabulary difficulty is low, this should prove useful for slow older readers.