Key, Watt. Hideout.

Key, Watt. Hideout. Macmillan/Farrar Strauss    2017  311p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-374-30482-9        ms/hs  Mystery/Detective  E-BN 

Twelve-year-old Sam loves his fishing boat. However, he does not like to fish, so he escapes for hours exploring the surrounding bayous. Sam disregards his father’s restrictions on going into the bayou. This leads to his meeting Davey, who is hiding in a bedraggled shack deep in the bayou. Sam is concerned over Davey’s plight and tries to help him out by bringing tools to fix up the shack. But Davey’s family is involved in criminal activities, and Davey’s brother’s friends are disreputable. The situation becomes explosive, so Sam and Davey flee for their lives into the bayou. 
    

Readers will enjoy the fast-paced switches in the story.  Sam tries to help his friend but becomes more entangled in small lies at home. It is a nail-biting and nerve-tingling read for young readers up to the very end.

Summary: “The son of a Mississippi policeman finds a boy living in hiding in the wilderness and tries to help him without giving away his secret”
                 

Adventure-Fiction, Mississippi-Fiction                            --Linda McNeil