Judy Bolton #11 The Unfinished House and #12 The Midnight Visitor

In Judy Bolton #11, The Unfinished House, Peter has established his law office in Roulsville, and Judy assists him as his secretary.  Peter is determined to thwart a real estate racket in which unusable narrow strips of land are raffled off, then the winners are coerced into purchasing the adjoining land.

Judy becomes acquainted with the Piper family, winners of one of the strips of land.  Judy and Peter find a way for the Pipers to build a house on the narrow land.  During construction, someone tries to frighten the workers away with strange sounds and threats of the Red Circle.

The book is like a traditional mystery, and the beginning reminds me of the Nancy Drew book, The Clue in the Diary, in which a needy family is brought to the attention of the main characters.

The story is quite suspenseful up until when the secret of the Red Circle is revealed.  That main mystery is revealed by around page 200, and the book is 250 pages long.  The last 50 pages bored me.

Except for the last 50 pages, this is a very good book.

In Judy Bolton #12, The Midnight Visitor, Judy and Peter seek shelter in an empty house during a storm.  They keep hearing noises, and they discover that a girl named Sally is hiding in the house.  Sally goes home with Judy, and Judy soon learns that Sally is related to Kay Vincent's family.  Harry Vincent is trying to take away Sally's inheritance.  Peter and Judy vow to help Sally.

This is a very good book.