The Dark Skies Mystery: A World War II Thriller
1942, Asheville, North Carolina. Henry Hamilton wants to be a journalist like his hero, Edward R. Murrow, but the only events he’s allowed to cover for his school paper are boring. In response to the US joining in the war, Asheville prepares for the possibility of enemy bombs and organizes air-raid wardens and drills. Finally getting an interesting topic to cover, Henry accompanies his father, who has an important position as grounds manager of the Biltmore Estate, to a meeting. There, Henry learns about blackout drills, air-raid sirens, and the possibility of saboteurs and spies infiltrating the United States. Later, when Henry sees something suspicious, he uses his skills as a journalist to deduce who, what, when, where, why, and how. But will he get his answers before something horrible happens?
Hicks has written a fast-paced thriller with a clever and intrepid hero. The stakes are high, and the reasons why Henry can’t tell anyone what he’s learned, believable. The setting is well developed, and the link to historical events (the hiding of important pieces of art in the Biltmore Estate during WWII) is explained in an author’s note. An excellent mystery that will have middle-grade readers on the edge of their seats. Ages 8-12.
