Thursday, February 21, 2013

Hicks, Deron R. Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave.


Hicks, Deron R.   Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave.     Houghton Mifflin  273p $16.99  978-0-547-84034-5      2012  ms    E-BN            Mystery/Detective

Colophon Letterford has to solve a family mystery that started back around 1616.  There is an old family legend of a missing treasure hidden somewhere in the family mansion, and Colophon must find it to save her father’s control of the company and the company from bankruptcy.       Colophon is a precocious 12-year-old who loves school and reading in the large library in the Letterford mansion.  As a typical 12-year-old, she listens at doors and hears things that she shouldn’t.

She realizes that her father’s control of the company is being threatened by his brother if the company’s revenue does not take a turn-around after some mysterious accidents.  Colophon talks her brother Case into helping her solve the mysteries, and her uncle Julian comes on the scene and helps her make sense of the various clues.

Readers will love the antics and suspense as Colophon and her brother undertake some hilarious adventures as they progress in solving the mystery.  Laughter will erupt when readers discover Colophon’s father having someone make his shoes smell like a skunk just as he is going to meet with an author.  And the suspense when Colophon and her uncle are almost caught in a crypt will keep readers enthralled.

Hidden Treasure–Fiction, Mystery                      --Linda McNeil

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