Serpent of Pirate Cove and Trouble at Turtle Bay

The Serpent of Pirate Cove was written by Bill Knott and was published by Steck-Vaughn in 1971.

In The Serpent of Pirate Cove, Jeff and Bob see a large serpent in the water in Pirate Cove.  Soon, others see the serpent, and hundreds of people flock to the area in hopes of seeing the mysterious creature.  Jeff and Bob suspect a hoax, and they set out to find out what is happening.

This is like the typical series book where someone pulls off a hoax by having some kind of monster appear in a lake.  This type of story is almost always good.

This is a very good book.

Trouble at Turtle Bay was written by Marie Holmstrand and was published in 1957 by Dodd, Mead & Company.

In Trouble at Turtle Bay, Bud and his father fish from Lake Superior. The taconite mining industry is bringing change to their town, and the family is caught between the old ways and the new ones. Bud wants to embrace the new life, but his father clings to tradition. The company tries to force the family to sell their land, but Bud's father refuses.

This is a coming-of-age story and not a mystery.  The story is absorbing, and I kept wondering how the plot would resolve.  The solution does not become apparent until pretty close to the end of the book.

This is an excellent story.