Lost Creek Cabin: A Winston Radhauser Mystery

Shenandoah Rose Hoffman, aka Shannon, never makes it home after school on Monday, November 11, 2002. Detective Winston Radhauser takes up the job to find her whereabouts. While in the process of uncovering the possible trail of events that would have caused the girl to go missing, the detective discovers that the girl’s best friend, Rich, had died barely two weeks ago in what seemed to be a suicide by the rail tracks. Further investigation shows that the two cases are closely related. Her parents, Gayle and Leo, who are currently separated have a very hard time coming to terms with her disappearance. It doesn’t take long before the authorities figure out that her mother’s behavior and a secret she had kept very well hidden from Leo and Shannon could actually have driven her far away. Where is the girl - and why did she disappear?

For fans of the Winston Radhauser series, things couldn’t have been better as the unstoppable detective takes on another over-the-edge investigation. The masterful twists and turns in “Lost Creek Cabin” leave the reader with nothing but an unending desire to keep flipping through the pages of the book. Nothing tastes better than when a well-kept secret slaps its owner squarely on his/her face, and the author does not disappoint as there are a couple of such delicacies tucked nicely in different corners of the novel. For readers who do not like some unexpected detours within a storyline, the marrying of Rich’s story and Shannon’s disappearance might be a tad cumbersome to process. The themes of the novel, bullying, dysfunctional families, friendship, loyalty, and peer pressure make it very realistic.

JM Lareen