Virginia Hamilton. The Mystery of Drear House. Greenwillow Books, 1987. 217 pagesConcluding her series of stories about the Small family, Virginia Hamilton perfectly completes the original plot in The Mystery of Drear House. The book's dark secrets begin to slowly unravel and end with a surprising friendship. The book is again set around Dies Eddington Drear's house, over the course of a current year. The surrounding property and on-site underground tunnels play a major role in setting the plot and motive for the characters' bizarre actions. The main character of the book was Thomas Small; He is a young boy of around 12 years old. He is shy and fearful but very mature for his age. He sees things as they should be and often gives too much due to his caring nature. Thomas's best friend is Pesty Darrow, a girl his age who lives on the property bordering theirs. The Darrows are a rival family and believe there is gold buried on the Smalls' land. They feel that it should be theirs and make many risky efforts to try to find it. Mrs. Darrow is Pesty's mother and the key to many secrets of the house and tunnels that were once part of the Underground Railroad. Due to her mental illness, she cannot speak or remember things clearly. Thomas' father knows the location of the gold and, being a good man, he arranges for the Darrows to find it. He did this so that they could live next to each other without quarreling. I believe Hamilton was trying to show that stubborn people with different ideas can overcome their differences. She shows how kindness and letting someone know you care and being able to put the past behind you can bring even the worst enemies closer. The book itself was excellent; I thought it explained and answered a lot of questions and gave the story enough closure. I almost wish that wasn't the case, the mysteries of the house were quite interesting, especially regarding the Underground Railroad and the real story behind it, which she incorporated into the plot..