Shadow on the Dial and Disappearance of Anne Shaw by Augusta Seaman

In The Shadow on the Dial, Naomi and Enid enjoy visiting an old plantation that once belonged to their ancestors.  The girls are dismayed when they learn that a wealthy man, Mr. Speer, plans to purchase the plantation and tear down the old house.

The girls become acquainted with Ronny and Leila, who are Mr. Speer's children.  When Ronny learns that the girls have a secret about the old house, he promises to sway his father from tearing it down, if they will share the secret with him.  The four young people join together to uncover the secret of the old plantation, which can be found by locating the missing sundial.

This book is very good to excellent.

In The Disappearance of Anne Shaw, elderly Anne Shaw suddenly vanishes from her home.  Most people are unconcerned, since Anne has done this before.  Kenneth, Mercedes, and Sanford feel differently, since they are aware of strange intruders in Anne Shaw's home.  It is up to the young people to rescue Anne Shaw.

The was the second book by Augusta Seaman that I read last year.  I read the book again for this review.  I am glad that I read it again, since I noticed something that I did not spot the first time.  I recently read The Secret of Tate's Beach.  When I read this book last year, I had not read that book and did not know about Mr. Tate, who makes an appearance in this book.  The Disappearance of Anne Shaw is set just a short distance from The Secret of Tate's Beach on the New Jersey shore.

The last part of the story where the mystery is explained is way too lengthy and difficult to understand.  I struggled with it last year, and on this second reading, I skipped it.  That portion should have been shorter and more concise.

Except for the last part of the story, this is a very good book.