A Light in the Dunes

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

Martha Attema has set her second novel in Nes on Ameland Island, which
lies off the coast of Friesland in the North Sea.

After a big storm, 14-year-old Rikst and her friend Bas discover a body
on the beach and see in the dunes a tall ghostlike figure whom Rikst
dubs the Ice-Woman. When they return to the site with Thomas, a retired
sea captain, the body has vanished. The disappearing body and the
suspicious appearance of three strangers on the island introduce the
mystery around which the story revolves.

Rikst is a remarkably active heroine. She participates in local
Sinterklass (Saint Nicholas) celebrations; enters and places second in a
short-story contest; records observations and secrets in her diary;
develops a love/hate relationship with tall, handsome Dirk; exchanges
girlish confidences with her best friend, Marijke; feuds with her mother
for naming her after the legendary witch Rixt but not explaining why;
and collaborates with Bas, Thomas, and the police to investigate the
suspicious activities of the strangers.

This adventure moves at a dizzying pace. There are occasional lapses in
editing and sometimes stilted and awkward dialogue, but the descriptive
passages provide a wealth of detail to flesh out the story line. Attema
provides a pronunciation guide, a map of the island, and two pages of
background information to assist the reader in negotiating the plot’s
intricacies. Recommended.