In this third volume of the Manga Math Mysteries series, Sam's father has bought an old house, and his little sister, Michelle, thinks there's a ghost in her room. Tom and Amy decide to help Sam and Michelle, pondering an old ghost story and taking measurements of Michelle's room to figure out what's really going on there. The lively story and colorful, action-filled manga-style art help to make the math fun to learn in this series; it even teaches a little about kung fu, too. And young readers will especially enjoy the surprising truth behind the mystery.

In Key, kung-fu students use basic math calculations to track down stolen equipment. In Ghost, the kids investigate strange noises in a classmate's bedroom; perimeter, area, and volume are discussed. Both mysteries are tepid, the manga-influenced illustrations are overly cartoony, and the math content feels forced. Unfortunately, in these cases manga + math + mystery = mostly mess.