A sunken, floating gambling casino, a hidden million dollar treasure, a suspected murder, a missing pirate, gangsters, a ghost, a hidden passageway and cave, an oddly constructed old mansion--you name it and you'll probably find it in this extravagant mystery/adventure. And it all started when Steve (the narrator) and his great big, ugly, lovable lug of a bulldog (Sinbad) went to help out the little old lady who lived near by. The author (his previous mystery for young people was The Blue Man) has been a syndicated cartoonist and a writer for some of the best known comedians, and the narration here is consistently lively and imaginative. Unfortunately, however, there's a little too much of too many good things here, and Steve's long-winded spouting on the subject of old houses (his major interest) drags the story out to unnecessary length. The whole thing is wildly illogical--and readers will like it that way.
