SECRET AT SUMMERHAVEN

by Lucy A. Nolan ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1987

Breezy comedy/mystery, set in a summer resort, about drug smugglers and a trio of cousins who track them down. Calling themselves the Motley Crew, cousins Lindy, 15, Britt, 15, and Skeeter, 12, spend their summers together crabbing, bothering their friend, Beach Bum, and making movies (among their ""hits"" are Diabolical Eggplants and The Aliens Who Came to Earth and Opened a Dry Cleaner's). This summer, Skeeter is working his way through the McAllister mystery series, while Lindy is convinced that Mr. Donaldson, a guest at her aunt's inn, is a crook. While filming another horror epic in an abandoned villa, the three see Donaldson and another man exhange packages. Is Donaldson a narc or a drug dealer? Suspects abound and the plot thickens: Britt's car is stolen; his boat is tampered with, leaving the cousins stranded at sea; a drug drop is seen; Lindy's room at the inn and Britt's house are ransacked--all of which culminate in an exciting scene, featuring an alligator, where the cousins must escape the crooks' clutches and effect their capture. The true identity of Beach Bum is also revealed. A subplot involves nasty teen Muskrat Robbins, whose father once cheated Britt's dad out of a land deal. Despite some gaps in the plot, a few racial stereotypes (no-nonsense black cook, her seemingly jobless son, and a Hispanic drug dealer), and the occasionally forced humor, this is an easy-to-take story, with many really humorous touches and excellent action scenes.

Pub Date: March 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S