The Bloodwater Mysteries: Skullduggery

This is the second in the Bloodwater mystery series, following Snatched. Hautman won the National Book Award in 2004 for his teen novel, Godless. Roni Delicata, reporter for her high school newspaper, is taking a summer course in Regional Studies along with her younger friend Brian Bain, a science geek. They really do not have much in common, except for a penchant for mysteries. The class is studying the plants of the region, and Professor Bloom is taking them on a field trip to the swampy Bloodwater Bottoms to look for ladyslippers and skunk cabbage. While hiking around with Brian (of course she is paired with geeky Brian, and not the handsome new student, Eric Bloodwater), they end up straying away from the smelly, muddy swamp, and up towards the bluff that is slated for development. They hear a very faint cry for help, and discover Dr. Andrew Dart, an archeologist from the local college, barely conscious in a cave, holding an old skull. He is sure that the bluff is an important Indian site, and gives Brian an ancient spear point and tells him to keep it safe--and the bulldozers must be stopped! Roni and Brian decide to help, but they have only a few days. They try and ask questions at a public meeting, but to no avail. Dr. Dart is hospitalized and not making much sense, so he is no help at all. They decide to go back to the cave. Before they can get back in, it explodes and the entrance is sealed. They embark on a nighttime mission to get into the cave and find evidence using a second entrance, down a rope in a deep hole in the ground. Will they succeed? Who hit Dr. Dart and left him the cave, and is that person still around? This book has it all--a great setting (Minnesota, along the Mississippi River), a resourceful and stroppy young reporter with a smart and witty sidekick, a scary mansion with secret passages, and small town summer life with bikes and Dairy Queens. I can hardly wait for the next in the series! Two Minnesota mystery authors teamed up to give us a 4-star read. Armchair Interviews says: If you love good Young Adult mysteries, this series if for you.