THE SECRETS OF STONE CREEK

Stung that Sophie, her friend and former fellow adventurer, made other plans for spring break, seventh grader Finley vows to have a superior adventure without her.

Finley’s annoyed when Mom, traveling on business, makes 13-year-old Oliver responsible for her and Griffin, who’s 8, while the siblings spend spring break with their adult cousin Jeff in Stone Creek, Vermont. The town is commemorating the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of Meggie Riley, who at 12 discovered a trove of valuable antiques in the woods. At 23, she went missing in those same woods, and the $100,000 reward for finding her is as of yet unclaimed. Fascinated, Finley’s confident she can solve the mystery—and make Sophie sorry she missed the excitement. Among the suspects are Meggie’s family members, a business rival profiting from her story, and men she knew, including Jeff and the father of Jason, Oliver’s new crush. Securing Oliver’s reluctant (and Griffin’s enthusiastic) assistance, Finley feels scared but vindicated when her investigations attract unwelcome attention from a mysterious person who begins tailing them. The lengthy novel’s meandering pace unfortunately inhibits suspense; action scenes are paused repeatedly while Finley reacts, repeating already well-aired emotions that are punctuated with flashbacks. Finley’s dreams of achieving celebrity ring true, but while she spells out her grievances and grandiose hopes in repetitive detail, her quarry, Meggie, remains out of focus, her story too thin to explain its decadeslong grip on her hometown. Characters are presumed White.

Best for patient readers.