Fascinating Authors

Book Review
by
John H. Manhold

Guardian ISBN 9780984070886, 4RV Publishing LLC, Paperback, 158 pages, $15.50, by Katie Hines.

A pledge made to his dying mother leads the young Drew Newman, along with his friends and family members, on a sometimes terrifying adventure. He must find a magical book that holds the secret to his destiny, but before he is about to confide in his friends, he is interrupted by two evil strangers. This occurrence is followed by home invasions, a move to his grandparents’ home, and more confrontations with numerous other members of the evil sect, a group that wants the book because it provides the sole manner of opening the secret repository for a treasure of untold proportions.

The confrontations, with numerous chases, take place largely in territories surrounding, or within, Oak Island, Nova Scotia. This Island is home to the famous, or infamous “Money Pit,” believed by many to be the hidden depositary for treasure of immense proportions, and provides an ideal location for the tale.

Unfortunately, I have the opportunity of reading very few books directed to any level of reader below the middle teens. However, I suspect the story could be interesting to children of Middle Grade level. It intersperses  feats of magic, along with objects that range from Knight Templar swords and the missing treasure of their Order, to SUV’s, hand-held telephones and banter I have overheard by persons of this age – a variety not unlike the Harry Potter stories. Additionally, as suggested by the Oak Island Tourism Society, it probably could add another new level to the mystery surrounding their island.