National Parks Mysteries #10 Out of the Deep and #11 Running Scared

In National Parks Mysteries #10, Out of the Deep, the Landons and their foster child, Bindy, arrive in Acadia National Park.  Olivia's latest task is to discover why the whales are beaching themselves along the shore of Maine.

Bindy is a troubled girl known to be a pathological liar.  Unfortunately, no one believes her when she learns key evidence as to why the whales are becoming beached.  Bindy takes matters into her own hands, endangering the lives of all three children.

The obligatory plug for National Geographic occurs on page 70.

On page 78, Bindy has disappeared for the second time.  Jack thinks of the legal ramifications.  His family might be sued, and they might not ever be able to take care of foster children again.  I found it refreshing for a series book to mention possible consequences of the family's misadventure.  Series books don't usually mention that sort of thing.

This is an excellent story.

In National Parks Mysteries #11, Running Scared, the Landon family vacations at Carlsbad Caverns National Park with their current foster child, Sam.  Sam is a troubled young boy who stutters.  Sam has his heart set on exploring Left Hand Tunnel, mainly because he is left-handed.

Olivia and Steven aren't able to accompany the children, so a park employee takes them to join a tour in progress.  An emergency situation causes Sam to become frightened, and he runs off into the caverns.  Jack and Ashley try to find him, becoming hopelessly lost.

For once, Olivia does not have a task at the park. The adventure is centered around the many hours that the children are lost in the tunnels.

This book is outstanding.