Enchantment Lake: A Northwoods Mystery - Hardcover

Preus, Margi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0816683026 ISBN 13: 9780816683024

Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press, 2015

Synopsis

Midwest Book Award Winner — Young Adult Fiction

A disturbing call from her great aunts Astrid and Jeannette sends seventeen-year-old Francie far from her new home in New York into a tangle of mysteries. Ditching an audition in a Manhattan theater, Francie travels to a remote lake in the northwoods where her aunts’ neighbors are “dropping like flies” from strange accidents. But are they accidents? 

On the shores of Enchantment Lake in the woods of northern Minnesota, something ominous is afoot, and as Francie begins to investigate, the mysteries multiply: a poisoned hotdish, a puzzling confession, eerie noises in the bog, and a legendary treasure said to be under enchantment—or is that under Enchantment, as in under the lake? At the center of everything is a suddenly booming business in cabin sales and a road not everyone wants built. 

To a somewhat reluctant northwoods Nancy Drew, the intrigue proves irresistible, especially when it draws her closer to the mysteries at the heart of her own life. What happened to her father? Who and where is her mother? Who is she, and where does her heart lie—in the bustle of New York City or the deep woods of Minnesota? With its gripping story, romantic spirit, and a sly dash of modern-day trouble (including evil realtors and other invasive species), Enchantment Lake will fascinate readers, providing precisely the charm that Margi Preus’s fans have come to expect.

About this title

About the Author

Margi Preus is a New York Times–best-selling author of books for young readers, including Shadow on the Mountain, West of the Moon, and Heart of a Samurai, winner of a Newbery Honor and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature. She loved mysteries since she was allowed to stay up past her bedtime to watch Perry Mason with her dad. Enchantment Lake is her first mystery.

Reviews

Gr 6–10—A distressed phone call from her eccentric great aunts sends 17-year-old Francie rushing back to Enchantment Lake. Francie hasn't seen her aunts since her father died in an unexplained accident there 10 years ago. When she arrives, she finds her aunts safe but needing her help to solve the mystifying deaths of several members of the lakeside community. Are the deaths related to the resident's obstruction of a new road a mysterious personage plans to build, connecting the lakeside cabins to the rest of the world? Or are they really just accidents? Though she only briefly played a detective on TV, Francie finds herself almost unwillingly drawn into the role of sleuth. She manages to get herself into a few moderately scary situations, a few ridiculous ones, and even a couple of romantic ones. The quirky cast of characters in the community add color to this plot-driven story, though they lack much depth. The ending wraps up the main mystery nicely, while leaving just enough unanswered questions to imply a possible series continuation. VERDICT Fans of Nancy Drew and cozy mysteries will find much to appreciate in this story of a modern-day teen sleuth.—Genevieve Feldman, San Francisco Public Library

Edition details

• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0816683026
• ISBN 13: 9780816683024
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200