Where Trouble Leads.

Deborah Dowson is a Canaadian children’s librarian in North Wales,
Pennsylvania.

Jennifer is a counsellor and her sister is a camper at White Pine Camp. As the girls settle into the routine of camp life, Jennifer observes several things about the place and the staff that make her uncomfortable. The appearance and behaviour of the cook and the nurse are particularly disconcerting. Jennifer’s suspicions are realized when she discovers another counsellor tied up in an abandoned boathouse. He explains that he is an undercover cop staking out a drug trafficking operation that is being run out of the camp. Jennifer is able to call the police, and even though there is gunfire, no campers are harmed and the culprits are apprehended.

Although the climax is very dramatic, the story is slow to develop and follows the rather dull daily routine of the camp and the interactions between the campers as they get to know each other. Unfortunately, the campers don’t reveal much about themselves, and even though we learn at the end that many are struggling with serious problems there is no deep sharing between them. Jennifer’s instincts are right about the kids and the camp, but she doesn’t actively investigate, and if it weren’t for one of Jennifer’s younger campers encouraging her, she wouldn’t have taken the initiative that leads to the discovery of foul play. The cover suggests more suspense than the story delivers, and the premise of the story is extremely unlikely. Not a first choice purchase.