The Missing Map of Pirate's Haven

I love mystery books. This one was great. The way the kids outsmart the "badguys" was cool. The book also has good morals and stuff and I recommend it for ages 8-16. I read the book once when I was seven or eight and again a few months ago, when I turned fifteen. I plan to purchase the whole series as soon as possible.

Ricky and his friends are looking forward to their trip to California to work for Lisa's uncle. So it will be hard work painting his new house. But they'll be doing it next to the beach. What could be better? So Joel going along wasn't in the original plan. Things could be worse, right? But within hours of them landing, Uncle Carl is meeting a mysterious man on the beach taking a brown paper sack full of money. Then there's the neighbor lady who spends all her time burring cat litter on the cliffs. And Ricky thinks he may have stumbled on a clue to a long buried pirate treasure. It's not until Ralphy, Joel, and Carl vanish that the gang realizes what trouble they are truly in. I had forgotten most of the details of this book from the first time I read it years ago, so I had as much fun as the first time. This is a cleverly plotted book with clues in very plain site. I still couldn't remember what they all meant and how Ricky put everything together. And there's still plenty of time for laughs, too, with two of the funniest scenes from the series. I just can't praise this series enough. It's got great stories with fun characters and some nice themes slipped in, too. Everyone should read them.