Marble Zoo and Star Lake by Margaret Goff Clark

In Mystery of the Marble Zoo, Jill and her sister, Carol, arrive at the Chapman place at night to spend the weekend sorting through Uncle Leon's belongings in preparation for selling them.  Jill wishes that the family could keep Uncle Leon's house, but they can't afford it.  Just before Uncle Leon died, he told Jill that he has a treasure, but he was unable to give her any details.  As Jill begins her search for clues, she notices that the contents of a drawer disappear.  Someone is prowling in the house, and Jill realizes that someone else is searching for the treasure.

My copy of this book was signed by Margaret Goff Clark.  It appears that she commonly signed books so it is not too unusual to find inscribed books.  Even so, having one is quite special.

This is such an excellent book.  By opening the book at night with a prowler on the Chapman property, Clark sets the stage for a highly suspenseful story.  I was enthralled from start to finish.

In Mystery at Star Lake, Jeff joins his brother, Hal, at the family's cabin in the Canadian woods.  Hal plans to build an addition to the cabin, and Jeff plans to help.  Hal initially changes his mind about Jeff staying at the cabin after a stone is thrown into the cabin with a warning note attached.  The note reads, "Get out!"

Jeff convinces Hal to let him stay.  The brothers receive another warning, and someone tries to blow up the cabin!  Can Jeff find the culprit before someone gets hurt?

For whatever reason, this book did not grab me.  I enjoyed it, but it is in the group of books by Margaret Goff Clark that I enjoyed less than her other books.