Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man

Sammy and her friends are startled when they interrupt what seems to be an attempted murder on Halloween. While trick-or-treating at a spooky old house, they find the door open, and inside a man is tied to a chair while a fire rages on the floor. A robbery? But what valuables could be missing from the home of a reclusive old man? Sammy tries to solve the mystery, all the while dealing with her nemesis, Heather Acosta; fending off her grandmother's nosy neighbor in the seniors-only housing where Sammy lives illegally while her mother is off in Hollywood; and keeping up with schoolwork.