This is the fourth mystery featuring teenage detectives Sandy and David and it is just as action-packed as the previous ones. This time, David and his Scottish friend Sandy (short for Alexandra) are scouting out some property left to David’s family by a great-uncle. The derelict lodge is on a remote lake so they are expecting some difficulties, but not as much trouble as they encounter. First, their jeep is run off the road, then a group of locals tries to scare them with tales of ghosts in the old building. Thanks to a tornado, which forces them to take refuge in the basement of the dilapidated building, what they actually find is a very sophisticated poaching operation. Bears are being butchered for their gall bladders – too lucrative a business to let a couple of teenagers interfere. When David and Sandy escape the runaway bulldozer that flattens their campsite, the local baddies arrive by helicopter determined to silence the duo forever.

The illegal sale of bears’ gall bladders is as topical as today’s news and Sutherland weaves around it an intricate and compelling plot. For added interest, he intersperses intriguing wildlife and camping lore among the hairbreadth escapes. Character development, however, is minimal. Without the dialogue tags, it’s difficult to know which of the two main characters is talking. And athough both are at least 16, they can share the same tent with never a quickened pulse or hint of overheating hormones. However, for readers who like jolt-a-minute thrillers, this is a fast, entertaining read.