Review: ROCK HARBOR LOST AND FOUND / by Colleen Coble and Robin Caroll

Rock Harbor Lost and Found / by  Colleen Coble and Robin Caroll
Thomas Nelson     ISBN:     9781400321636
INT (MS)     Grades 4-8     Rating: 5

Award-winning author Colleen Coble and Robin Caroll return with the second book in the Rock Harbor series for younger readers. This mystery series features a rescue dog named Sherlock and fourteen-year-old Emily.

In Rock Harbor Lost and Found, Emily and her best friend look through old photos in preparation for a surprise anniversary party for Olivia’s parents. They discover an old photo that reveals Olivia was adopted as a baby – something she had never known.  Afraid to ask her parents about the details, Olivia convinces Emily to help her research the details by contacting a newspaper reporter who helped them in the past. When they start to uncover some information surrounding Olivia’s birth family, they come across suspicious and illegal activities that may be related to her adoption.

Then unusual events start taking place in Rock Harbor, Michigan, including the poisoning of Charley (another search-and-rescue dog), the re-appearance of Marika (Emily’s mother out on parole), a mysterious fire in the school, and finally, the disappearance of Naomi (Emily’s stepmother). Emily launches her own search-and-rescue mission in a snowstorm with the help of her puppy, Sherlock. Will she find Naomi before the blizzard gets worse? Will Olivia learn the truth about her adoption? Have the girls taken on more than they can handle?

Coble and Caroll do an excellent job of creating a good clean mystery/suspense appropriate for upper elementary readers. Readers will appreciate the plot twists, suspense, and realistic narrative.  This series is a mystery with a light faith element – Emily prays to God for guidance and learns about forgiveness as she deals with her mother, Marika. The series is clearly appropriate for tween girls and an enjoyable read for older readers, even adults.

Highly recommended for school libraries and youth collections in public libraries.

Check out my review on the first book in this series: Rock harbor Search & Rescue

Carol R. Gehringer

Disclaimer: Book reviews are my opinion of books I either received free of cost from the publisher in exchange for a honest review, or purchased for my personal collection or our school library.