Thomas Fenske does not disappoint with his third installment of the Traces of Treasure series, Lucky Strike. Changing focus from the lost gold mine to a mystery buried treasure from World War II, Fenske steps it up in the complexity department. I’m impressed by his ability to weave together so many disparate parts into a coherent whole, slowly revealing bits of information both about the resolution of the mystery and about the characters we’ve met through the first two books. World War II, deserters, and buried treasure; international criminals, kidnapping, and murder. Oh, and our friends the ghosts, who once again play a pivotal role in the resolution of the key drama. As the drama unfolds, we learn in bits both information useful for solving the mystery of the lost treasure as well as some of the backstory to the characters we’ve come to love from the first two books. I originally erroneously thought the series was going to end with this book, and that made me sad because Sam, Smidgeon, and Lance have started to feel like old friends. I’ve spent so much time with them and in Van Horn that sometimes I forget I’ve never actually been to Texas. I’m glad to spend more time with them, though at the same time I do wish they could live in some sort of peace!
Four stars!
Check out my reviews of Books 1 and 2, The Fever and A Curse That Bites Deep, then go buy them and read up in anticipation of Lucky Strike‘s release this fall!
Kristin Houlihan, Writer 