TROUBLE AT IMPACT LAKE

It's another archaeological adventure for 13-year-olds Cody, Eric and Rachel, in the third installment of this action-packed series.

Just back from Egypt and travels in time, the kids find a mystery right on their own doorstep in Manitoba. They meet three people at the service station who claim to be searching for Harrier planes that sunk at Impact Lake during World War II, when the lake was the site of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan for training floatplane pilots. But Cody is immediately suspicious of the strangers, knowing that Harrier planes didn’t exist during the war. Off go the three investigators, launching themselves on another escapade involving drowned pilots, ghosts, rumors of a crazy trapper, a killer bear and kidnappers. What are the strangers looking for at Impact Lake? Lively action and plenty of dialogue make this volume as much fun to read as its two predecessors. Oertel knows how to develop a scene for maximum scary or humorous effect, and his three young protagonists come off as real kids with a penchant for adventure.

Two latter-day Hardy boys and a Nancy Drew may just awaken the Indiana Jones in young readers and teach a bit of history at the same time.