Review of
The Mystery of the Million-Dollar Penny,
by Mel Lyle
Four out of five stars
Jack Power is
seventeen and his brother Chip is fifteen, the ideal age for main characters in
adventure fiction for adolescents. It opens with the Power boys hiking in a
remote region of the Ozarks and they come across a small airport. It is owned
and operated by a man named Clay and the scene is one where pigs and chickens
are running free range.
The adventure
truly begins when a small plane flies overhead and crashes in the thick brush. The
only way to reach the site is by having Clay fly his helicopter. They rescue
the pilot and transport him to the nearest hospital. The name of the injured
man is Lewis and he is one of a small group of men involved in a million dollar
stolen treasure. There is a cave nearby with the associated legend that perhaps
the Jesse James gang had hidden some of their loot there.
Other men
arrive that may or may not be what they claim to be. With their friend Eddie,
the Power boys do what adventurous boys of their age do. They look for and
attempt to create clues that will help them solve the mystery. The main clue is
scratched on a rare, old penny. However, it is the treasure that is worth a
million dollars, not the penny.
The adventure
is constructed following the bounds of such adventures. The Power boys are in
danger, but not the kind created by ruthless adversaries. There is a base resolution
where all questions are answered regarding the villains, heroes and simple
bystanders.
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