A Trap of Gold

Gr 5-8 Margaret Cassidy, the 14-year-old heroine of this fast-paced suspense story, senses she is being watched by a stranger. During her flight to safety, she loses a gold nugget necklace, a gift from her father. Aided by her friend George and his dog, she searches unsuccessfully for the gold nugget, narrowly escapes drowning in a flash flood and finally confronts the sinister watcher in an old abandoned gold mine. Smith has cleverly blended an action-packed mystery with the problems of an independent teenager adjusting to a new family arrangement and added a colorful assortment of believable characters, both human and animal. A successful adolescent novel that will leave Smith's fans wanting more. Cynthia K. Leibold, Anderson High School, Cincinnati