The Danger Beneath

Lynn Manuel, a writer of mystery novels for young adults, is the author
of Return to Cranberry Farm.

Wordsworth Doyle and Jessica Redd are once again involved in a double
mystery-adventure. Wordsy is accidentally transported into a photograph
of the Titanic, and the only person who can reverse the process is
Jessica’s cousin Tim—who is being held captive by bank robbers! To
complicate matters, the process must be reversed before the Titanic hits
the iceberg and sinks.

At a pace rapid enough to entertain the most reluctant reader, the
story shifts successfully between Wordsy’s life-threatening situation
and Jessica’s efforts to free her cousin and save Wordsy. The author
has interwoven the two stories very naturally.

The Titanic’s disastrous end is handled realistically and
sensitively. The book paints an uncompromising picture of the sheer
horror of those last moments: “Dozens of tiny, moving forms were
silhouetted against the dark grey sky, still clinging to the railings,
their screams swallowed by the gurgling sounds of the ocean. . . .”
The darkness of those moments is balanced by the humorous “Keystone
Cops” rescue of Tim by Jessica and her friends.

While the characters once again solve their problems without adult
intervention, the author has avoided turning the authority figures into
incompetent buffoons.

Despite the string of coincidences that stretch the story’s
credibility, young readers will be interested right up to the final
moment.