The Mystery of Gatewood Airport

Book excerpt: This is the second book in a series about the adventures of 14-year old Vanessa and her cousins in the summer of 1967. As the summer of 1967 wanes, 14-year-old Vanessa receives an urgent message from her cousin Emma to return to their Indiana farm to help resolve a pressing dilemma. Loving both her cousins and mysteries, Vanessa begs to go. Shortly after arriving, Vanessa is swept into a whirl of activities at the nearby municipal airport. She begins to pull together clues indicating a local bigwig is up to no good using airport facilities that may involve illegal exotic animal smuggling. Secretly observing the airport from a tree house built near the airport’s perimeter, the girls, together with cousins Luke and Daniel, piece together a shady operation that must be stopped. Their efforts to thwart the illegal activities almost cost them their lives, but teach Vanessa and her cousins lessons in courage and comradery. Meanwhile, Vanessa and local boy Jim resume a flirtation begun earlier that summer, only to learn that relationships are rewarding, but complicated.