Tom Thomson's Last Paddle: A Dani and Caitlin Mystery

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Larry McCloskey’s second venture into the paranormal mystery genre
utilizes the same pair of 12-year-old best friends, Dani and Caitlin,
though Dani was called Natasha (aka Punky) in the earlier novel, Murder
at Summer House (2000). Occurring in August of the same summer as the
previous book, Tom Thomson’s Last Paddle can function as a stand-alone
read despite containing a number of passing references to the earlier
book.

During a week-long camping trip at Algonquin Park’s Canoe Lake with
their fathers, the two girls go on a solo overnighter at a campsite that
had been favored by Group of Seven painter Tom Thomson. There,
Thomson’s ghost appears to them, saying that his July 8, 1917, death
was not accidental. He seeks the girls’ help in uncovering the truth
so that his ghost can “move on.” Particularly motivating Thomson is
the fact that an important history professor is about to write a book
that will reinforce in the public’s mind the theory that the
painter’s death was accidental. Because the suspects are all dead, the
junior sleuths must seek secondary proof, a diary. Unfortunately, the
plot never becomes truly engaging, as the two simply wander from person
to person in search of the diary before accidentally stumbling upon it.

The book has several weaknesses. Chance occurrences are too often used
to advance the storyline. Although characterization is usually thin in
mysteries, this book’s adult figures verge on caricatures. Finally,
McCloskey needs to provide endnotes to explain which parts of the book
are fact-based and which are created. Not a first-choice purchase.