by Clare Bice
I loved this old-fashioned story! Shad and his friends, Michael and Willie, are ready for adventure, poking their noses into every nook and cranny around the cove, and keeping a weather eye out to sea. They are spunky and rambunctious, good-hearted and brave.
The only thing that bothered me was that Shad is dismissive of his sister and other women in the book, and the ladies don’t play any major role in the story. Why couldn’t the sister have gone smuggler-hunting too? Why don’t they include her in their treasure hunts? The women are portrayed as being helpless, and mostly stay in the kitchen. Shad and the other men are respectful and polite to the ladies, but they don’t include them in the action. Ah well, it’s old-fashioned.
I liked the writing style, and the suspense in the plot. There are a lot of minor mysteries and strange events that all add up to the big adventure surrounding the hurricane. I loved how all the separate mysteries resolved together into the conclusion.