Disneyland Hostage

Cathy Matyas was a librarian in Toronto.

Disneyland Hostage is the sixth mystery novel for young people that Eric Wilson has written. It features Liz Austen, who (according to the blurb at the back of the book) has appeared in the preceding five novels. Although she was born and raised in Winnipeg, Liz belongs to the Trixie Belden tradition of young female detectives.

In this novel, Liz and her Aunt Melody find themselves drawn into an adventure in Disneyland during their vacation in California. Liz does not realize the full implications of strange disappearances and the presence of suspicious characters until she, her aunt, and the friends they have made on the trip are taken hostage inside Disneyland by terrorists wanting to overthrow the government of a small and impoverished Latin American country. The danger intensifies, and Liz finds herself in some difficult situations before the mystery is resolved.

If Disneyland Hostage sometimes fails to generate the atmosphere appropriate to international intrigue, the plot is at the very least absorbing and the characters well-drawn and engaging. Disneyland Hostage will appeal to readers between the ages of twelve and sixteen.