Voodoo Shack: A Michigan Mystery

Join Iris and the Voodoo Shack gang as they investigate a mysterious death and an unsolved crime! (For ages 9 and up)When 11-year-old Iris Weston discovers a ramshackle hunting cabin deep in Hazard Swamp, she and her friends decide it's perfect for a secret clubhouse. The gang dubs it the Voodoo Shack and meets there to swap stories and play card games. Ol' Man Hazard, the former owner, died under mysterious circumstances, and the kids speculate whether it was an accident, suicide or maybe even murder! The gang believes that cash from an unsolved crime may have been stashed within feet of the cabin. Even as things go badly awry, feisty Iris learns how to use her wit and independence to put things right, discovering what family really means in this adventurous and often humorous coming-of-age story set in rural Michigan in 1962.Set in the early 1960s, Martin's novel traces a girl's journey toward understanding the true meaning of love, family and friendship. Iris is an appealing character whose relationships with friends and family are realistically portrayed as she struggles to find her place. --School Library JournalMartin has drawn on her childhood memories to create an engaging, feisty heroine, lively supporting characters and an easy-to-visualize early 1960s rural Michigan setting. And, although Iris doesn't solve all her mysteries, she finds the answers to the most important ones in this fast-paced story. --ALA BooklistReaders fond of lightweight mysteries solved by spunky heroines will take to this fiction debut, though a heavy ballast of tragedy and near-tragedy keeps it low to the ground. Some of the dialogue and set pieces show a promising authorial gift for comedy. (Fiction. 10-12) --Kirkus Reviews...add to this drama that Iris's grandmother is ill, maybe dying in her fears, and she has messed absolutely everything up. Of course, the obvious thing is to admit all her messes to her parents, but who of us at that age ever did that? Any of us 'grownups' who are the least bit honest know exactly how Iris feels. Kids that age today (in the middle of their hopes, dreams, and fears) find a heroine in Voodoo Shack who they identify with and will begin to feel: If she can do it, I can, too. -- Deborah K. Frontiera, U.P. Book ReviewThis book was originally released as A Family TraitLearn more at www.TerriLynnMartin.comFrom Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com