WHO' S SCARED? NOT ME!

St. George combines her expertise in nonfiction historical writing with her interest in mysteries to create a well-researched story with an interesting plot that, however, plods when it should race. Micki, 15 and a bit of a jock, is visiting New York City for the summer with her mother and little sister, who must have an important operation. One morning she meets a strange bag-lady who seems set on attracting her attention and, more importantly, the attention of her beloved dog, Jiggs. The lady seems to appear and reappear along with a mysterious cloud of birds and a house along the Hudson--but only to Micki, who feels compelled to solve the resultant mystery, which involves two missing Audubon paintings and the ghost of Audubon's widow. She solves the mystery, but barely in time, and must give up Jiggs in the process. The plot is full of details about Audubon's life; that and the N.Y.C. background are nicely and accurately done. The characters, however, lack dimension--even a romance fails to brink Micki to life, and everyone else seems to be more a collection of character traits than a person. The suspense and mystery trudge along with the narrative, which seems stubbornly tied to Micki's limited vocabulary though written in the third person. An interesting idea sabotaged by its execution.