on an unseasonably warm easter sunday a young girl namedivy discovers a chilling secret in the basement of the rumbaughpharmacy across the street from the hotel where she lives withher mother the discovery reveals a disturbing side to theeccentric lives of family friends abner and adolph rumbaughknown throughout their small western pennsylvania townsimply as the twins it seems that ab and dolph have beencompelled by a powerful mutual love for their deceased motherto do something extraordinary something that in its owntwisted way bridges the gap between the living and the deadimmediately ivys discovery provokes the revelation of arumbaugh family curse a curse that as ivy will learn over thecoming years holds a strange power over herself and her ownmotherin his third book for young adults jack gantos has scripted acompletely original drama with gothic flavor and black humorhe depicts a group of people bound together by lovecompulsion and a passion for taxidermy