It's Thanksgiving and Hazel and Ned are back with their new-found family, including their father, for the holidays. Although their dad soon leaves for more international art fraud investigation, he leaves behind some notes for a treasure hunt, to amuse the siblings. In the course of solving the mysteries, Hazel and Ned make some discoveries of their own in the Frump castle on Isle du Loup, including an ancient diary and jewels. Soon they find themselves solving an old family mystery - is this what their father intended? And why do the notes suddenly turn more dangerous...?

Ages 10-14.

Jennifer Lanthier is a former wire service and newspaper reporter, speechwriter, magazine freelancer, and editor. She has interviewed actors, politicians, directors, musicians, scientists, athletes and CEOs and shared their stories with readers around the world. Jennifer is the author of the acclaimed Hazel Frump series adventure novels for children: The Mystery Of The Martello Tower and The Legend Of The Lost Jewels. She lives in Toronto with her family and enjoys basketball, taekwondo, and running, but regrets the fact that she cannot read music, play an instrument, or whistle. The Stamp Collector is Jennifer's first picture book.

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The Legend of the Lost Jewels (A Hazel Frump Adventure)

In her second stand-alone mystery featuring heroine Hazel Frump, author Jennifer Lanthier has created an enthralling and suspenseful story reminiscent of fellow Canadian Eric Wilson’s Tom and Liz Austen mysteries for younger readers.

A bad storm closes Hazel’s and her brother’s schools, stranding them at their cousins’ castle Land’s End. To keep them busy, their father devises a treasure hunt, sending them hunting for a set of legendary lost jewels. But what begins as harmless fun quickly turns dangerous as dark images from their family’s past come back to haunt them.

Hazel is a feisty, likeable and completely realistic heroine. She is not a trouble maker, but trouble tends to find her, and readers will enjoy her adventurous spirit. Hazel’s brother Ned is also a welldeveloped character, and his more cautious and thoughtful nature makes a good counterpart to Hazel’s sometimes eager impulsiveness. The cast of minor characters who pop in and out of the story are also quirky and fun, and while the mystery quite firmly stays in the hands of Hazel and Ned, they help to keep the story moving and to avoid becoming too narrowly focused.

The mystery is solid and the clues are fun to follow along with without being too easy or overly challenging. Lanthier also does an excellent job of creating several twists and turns along the way, adding a spooky subplot to the story and keeping readers guessing right until the end.

Though the length and format of the novel might be a bit daunting for some younger readers, the story is completely clean, and not so scary that readers will find it too frightening. Whether it is read alone or read aloud, mystery fans will look forward to another adventure in this refreshing new series.