Trouble at Turtle Narrows

Book excerpt: Ages 9 years & over. After a rocky start to the summer in Turtle Narrows, things are starting to turn around for 13-year-old Joel Osler. He and his stepmother are finally hitting it off, and Joel has a dog of his own, a black Labrador retriever named Molly. The Osler family has just moved into the old Clifton House, with its unusual little rooftop room and the best view for miles. When Joel and Molly stumble upon suspicious activities at an empty warehouse, the little room becomes the perfect place from which to watch for further trouble. After discovering an artist's sketchbook filled with historical drawings, long hidden on the Clifton property, Joel learns that the house was once home to a famous artist. When he meets Adelaide Clifton, the former owner of the house, she tells him of its connection to the early lumbering days in the Ottawa Valley. Dropping in to his dad's shop one day, Joel overhears a mysterious stranger demanding money. Suddenly, it looks like they might lose the house and have to move back to the tiny flat over the shop. If that happens, Joel won't be able to keep his dog. He is desperate for a solution