LitPick Review
While sisters Isla and Mae are preparing their camping site with their father, an unexpected rainstorm moves in making them take cover in their tents. While looking out of their tents as the rain becomes heavier, the girls can’t believe their eyes. Standing next to their tents is a young boy looking at them who is bone dry and not saying a word to either one of them. Then the unthinkable happens.
Their father receives a phone call from his mother and she’s sobbing. She explains that Darren Fletcher, a building developer, has served her and the entire town with repossession paperwork claiming he is the rightful owner of all that land. Nana’s neighbor, Mr. Bobby Bellingham, visits with her, and he explains that his family used to be the owners of the land, but through the generations, the proper deed paperwork has gone missing. Ironically, Mr. Bellingham is aware of the young boy Isla and Mae have seen. He strongly feels the boy has information that would help him keep what is rightfully his. Who is this boy and what information could he know that could help the town keep their homes?
Opinion:
This is book three in the Lakeland Mysteries, and Warren Cabral has successfully created another delightfully entertaining children’s mystery. We pick up with the Donaldson family, specifically sisters Isla and Mae. We see how this dynamic young duo work together to not only try and save Nana’s house, but also help her neighbor, Mr. Bellingham, find the answers and closure to pending questions that have spanned over generations in his family. Readers will cheer on Isla and her older sister Mae as the girls work together doing what they do best – solving mysteries with their special skills.
Another point I’d like to mention is how even though Isla and Mae have their sisterly differences, it shows that they rise above the differences they have with each other. They work together as a solid team trying to solve whatever the mystery is that has presented itself to them in every book. I feel these two are good role models for children to see that even though you may have differences between you and your siblings, it’s important to look past them when you need each other the most.
This mystery surrounding who the young ghost boy was and how he pertained to Mr. Bellingham made for a detailed storyline that will have readers eagerly turning the pages to see how everything turned out in the end for everyone. I’m an adult reader, and I found myself trying to fit the puzzle pieces together along the way. Cabral has a genuine talent for writing entertaining mystery stories for children, but these mysteries easily entertain readers of all ages.
Just as the previous two books in this series, the illustrations provided by Corryn Webb were both done in black and white and color, which were scattered throughout the book. The colored ones were vibrantly done and will make readers stop to take in the pictures that enhanced the storyline so well. Corryn is a Welsh freelancer illustrator and designer who is passionate about creating unique and eye-catching illustrations for children’s books. She has a vivid imagination and an eye for details.
Warren Cabral is an author of numerous plays, musicals, short stories, and now his full-length children’s novels. At the age of 16, he worked as a newspaper journalist. After a 30 year career as an attorney, he returned to writing and penned a short Christmas story for his two nieces. From there, this new children’s full-length series, The Lakeland Mysteries, was created.
Overall, The Lad in the Lane is the third book in the Lakeland Mystery series and is another book that will have readers eager to see how the story unfolds. The characters feel like people you know personally, the storyline is engaging from the very first page, and the mystery is intriguing. This is one children’s mystery series that shouldn’t be passed up!
