In Joan Weir’s sequel to The Witcher, the same two pubescent sleuths (Lion and his sister, Bobbi) foil a plot to discredit the principal of a school in Powell River. The principal is spearheading a study on the effluent from the local pulp and paper mill. Three men with a vested interest in the mill devise a needlessly roundabout way to cripple the study. They implicate the principal’s son, C.J., in a series of break-ins, to make it look as if the principal, whose position is under review, is incapable of raising her own child, let alone guiding a school or environmental investigation. The villains go to absurd lengths considering the stakes – placing electronic bugs and arranging near-fatal accidents for those involved.

Weir’s handling of the far-fetched narrative is clumsy at times. The exposition in the opening chapters is delivered in indigestible chunks, with the 12-year-old protagonist taking an improbable interest in the intricacies of prawn fishing and mill effluvia. The characters are generally underrealized. Lion and Bobbi have no internal weaknesses to overcome. The worst aspect of himself that Lion has to confront is his (understandable) fear of swimming with octopuses.

The novel has some redeeming features. The climax, involving horses, octopuses, and scuba diving, is original. The pacing is fairly adept, with clues dropped at manageable intervals for young readers. The relationships between the teenagers approach realism and provide glimpses of the hero’s thoughts. Particularly interesting is the rapport Lion and C.J. develop – both are wrongly accused of being “snitches” by peers because of their parents’ jobs (lawyer and principal). This friendship helps counterbalance a plot dominated by unlikely external conflicts.