THE CURSE OF THE LOST CAVE

Ciphers, family secrets, and scary rivals challenge a squad of small-town sleuths on the track of hidden treasure in this sequel to The Secret of Moonrise Manor (2025).

As the Ozarks town of Sassafras Springs gears up for its annual Outlaw Days, 12-year-old Raven and the three other members of the Truth Trackers Detective Agency (“Who you gonna call? Truth Trackers!”) follow a series of ciphered messages from the Civil War era that might lead to a legendary stash of Confederate gold. Unfortunately, mysterious others are on the same trail—and not above a bit of phone theft, lab trashing, or even assault to beat the young detectives to the glittery prize. Amid all the clue-finding and code-breaking, the author tucks in nods to Edgar Allan Poe in the form of her protagonist’s name, the mysterious Dupin Society, and other references as she trots in multiple suspects and red herrings, an evil corporation, a treasure-hunting vlogger, a surprise villain, and whiffs of real danger at the climax. Even though Bearce sometimes seems to be working off a writer’s checklist, the sparky cast and tongue-in-cheek rural vibe add plenty of life to a quickly paced caper in which the stakes are high, the level of violence is (relatively) low, and the close is awash in rich rewards and just deserts. Main characters read white, and one Truth Trackers member is cued Chinese American.

A sure-handed pleaser for young detectives.