Secret of the Silver Mines

The Dylan Maples Adventures #2

by Shane Peacock

Just when Dylan Maples is settling down after last summer's trip to Ireland's Eye, the parental units are at it again—planning another family adventure. Only this time, it's not a summer vacation, but an extended trip way up north to Cobalt, Ontario, in the middle of a bitter winter. Once a thriving silver mining community, all that's left of the town's rich history are the long abandoned mines.

A Toronto millionaire has hired Dylan's dad to retrieve a fortune in silver allegedly stolen from his grandfather back in the early part of the twentieth century. But was the fortune really stolen? And if so, where has it been hidden? The answers to these questions reside with one man—Theobald T. Larocque, Cobalt's oldest citizen. But no one has seen him in years. And no one seems at all eager to help Dylan's dad locate him—except, of course, his devoted son Dylan, and Dylan's newfound friend and accomplice, Wynona Dixon.

Genres: Mystery

207 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2012

About the author

Shane Peacock was born in 1957 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, one of four brothers. He attended school in the northern town of Kapuskasing, Ontario, before attending university, where he studied History and English literature. A biographer, journalist, and screenwriter, he is also the author of eighteen novels, a picture book and three plays, and has been won and/or been nominated for numerous awards including two Arthur Ellis Awards for crime fiction, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for historical fiction, the Violet Downey Award, the Libris Award, seven times honored with Junior Library Guild of America selections, and has been on three shortlists for the Canadian Children's Literature Award, and one for the Governor-General's Award. His books have been published in 20 languages in 18 countries. He and his wife, journalist Sophie Kneisel live in Cobourg, Ontario and have two daughters and a son.

Series:
* The Dylan Maples Adventures
* The Boy Sherlock Holmes
The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim
The Seven Series

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2008): Eye of the Crow
The Arthur Ellis (2013)
The Violet Downey Award
The Libris Award
The Geoffrey Bilson Award
The Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Award
Anne Izard Storyteller Choice Award
Junior Library Guild of America Selection (7 times)
Governor-General's Award (shortlist)
TD Canadian Children's Literature Award (shortlist)

Reviews

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: Next in the series

Dylan and his family are headed for Cobalt, Ontario. None of them is happy about it. 500 kms north of Toronto all Dylan can think of is Hicks living in Hicksville. His parents aren't too happy either as his lawyer dad has taken a job against his usual principals of fighting for the underdog against big company conglomerations and this time has been paid enough money to pay off his mortgage to represent one of the biggest business men in T.O. to find out what happened to a quarter million dollars worth of silver supposedly stolen from his grandfather back before WWI by a man named Theobald T. Larocque. Just having found out about this theft he is determined to get his money back if it takes him the rest of his days. Upon arriving in Cobalt, the Maples family finds out that T.T. Laroque is still alive; the oldest citizen at 108 years of age but he hasn't spoken to anyone in the village for decades, even though half (or more) of them are directly related to him.

Dylan and his new friend, Wynonna, the old man's great-granddaughter, set out to solve the mystery of the missing silver and the secret that has kept Theo hidden away in seclusion for all these years before the lawsuit destroys the old man and the whole town.

A wonderful, interesting, fast-paced mystery. While Dylan is on the opposite side of his parents in this drama, his family retains the great respect for one other that I was impressed with in the first book. Showing the dynamics of a healthy family relationship. As Dylan and Wynonna get to know the old man, he starts to tell them old stories from the past; one) simply to live down memory lane and two) to give hints to the teens where the silver has been stashed all these years. Through these reminiscences a lot of historical information is imparted even though the book is not a historical fiction. One learns about the silver rush in Northern Ontario, something I've never come across in my reading before, and it's similarity, though on a lesser scale, to the gold rush is noticed. Then there is the lawlessness that goes with this type of environment and the further working conditions of the silver mines in a pre-world war one era. Then, interestingly enough the second most featured historical topic was that of the early days of hockey. Here we have the NHA (before it became the NHL) with the Montreal Canadians, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Wanderers, Cobalt Silver Kings, Vancouver Millionaires and Renfrew Creamery Kings playing to packed hockey arenas in the heart of the frozen north, with the likes of the early hockey hero "Cyclone" Taylor. I'm no hockey (or any sport) fan but the early day history of our national sport is certainly entertaining.

Adding this historical information to the cleverly plotted mystery which has lots of action to keep it going made for a entirely enjoyable drama. This proposes another interesting place I wouldn't mind going for a day visit. I've been on a tour of old coal mines in both BC and England; would be interesting to see an old silver mine. I'm looking forward to the next book especially since it takes place somewhere I've been numerous times.

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen-year-old Dylan Maples' lawyer dad has been hired by a wealthy client to recover silver worth a quarter of a million dollars, stolen, the client claims, in the early 1900s by a man named Theodore Larocque. Now the Maples family is moving from Toronto to Cobalt, a small town in Northern Ontario to find Laroque or, more likely, his heirs and recover the silver no matter how long this takes. None of the family is happy about it but Dylan is especially unhappy - he is leaving his friends and, worst of all, his hockey team behind and figures they are moving to hicksville full of nothing but hicks. Still, he signs up for hockey and is pleased to see the abilities of the other players.Then they play another team that's even better thanks to one player in particular. To Dylan's surprise, this player is a girl, Wynona Dixon. Dylan and Wynona become friends but when he explains why they are in Cobalt, it turns out Theo Laroque is her great-grandfather and, although, she has never met him, she is sure that he never stole the silver. Laroque is still alive surprisingly and is living in a huge and creepy old house at the top of a hill but no one has seen him for years - Dylan's dad has tried repeatedly to speak to him but has had no luck. Wynona decides that she and Dylan will visit him and find out the truth about what happened to the silver, a quest that will put the pair in real danger.

Secret of the Silver Mines by author Shane Peacock is the second in the Dylan Maples Adventure series and is a clever and entertaining mystery for young adult readers. Dylan and Wynona are interesting characters as is Theo Laroque and there is plenty of action to keep a young reader engrossed . However, for an adult like me, the best part of the book was the actual history Peacock has written into the story, the silver rush of the early 20th c., the conditions under which the miners worked and the class divisions that developed as speculators, bankers, con artists, and entrepreneurs arrived in the town. There was also some fascinating history about the early days of hockey. As Cobalt grew rich thanks to the silver rush, their home team, the Cobalt Silver Kings played teams from all over including, once, the Montreal Canadiens. A fun snowy day read for a Middle grade reader.

Thanks to Netgalley and Nimbus Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action packed adventure written for children but loved by this adult. I loved every twist and turn. It was a simple but exciting mystery/ treasure hunt.

I especially loved learning about the Cobalt silver rush, as well as the area’s contribution to hockey and other young adult mysteries (the hardy boys)!

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come

[Jessica Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was my favorite of the series. Not being from Canada the descriptions of the terrain and climate "past the shield" meaning way way up north was fascinating. The story was well done too.

[Digitally Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ariela- I went into this book expecting another adventure like the last one I read, and that is what I got, but it was a little different this time. I got to know Dylan a little better, and there was also a new character who I really liked, a girl named Wynona Dixon. Wynona has flowy blonde hair is really good at playing hockey, and wants to get to the bottom of the case that Dylan’s dad (who’s a lawyer) has been hired to solve. See, Dylan’s dad was hired by this millionaire guy who owns the company that like… bought rights (?) to some silver that Wyn’s great grandpa found and claimed years and years ago. See, the thing with this is that it’s a middle grade book. It was a little tricky for me to wrap my head around this stuff, and I’m 14, while the target audience for this book is 8-12. I honestly found it a little boring compared to the first one. But other than that, I did really enjoy reading it and I loved that there were new characters! I love this series. It’s so fun to read. Dylan also reminds me a lot of Percy Jackson, and his adventures are a little bit similar too, minus the whole Greek gods mythology and stuff 😉
______
Savannah: •Book Review•
Happy Holidays everyone!! I hope everyone is have a relaxing holiday and have gotten plenty of new reading material, I know I have. This is my review for the second instalment in the Dylan Maples Adventure Series “The Secret Of Silver Mines” ! I loved this book so much and so far it’s my favourite book out of the series. (I’ve read up till book 4 so far but haven’t had time to write a review) This books for sure gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book had a very interesting plot that kept me hooked from the very beginning. The writing was very detailed and good at keeping me engaged. I loved the storyline and fell in love with the characters and all the little secrets they had. Let me just say Dylan and Wynona are very brave because I could’ve never done what they did.

Overall this book is very intriguing and an extremely fun mystery that I highly recommend!

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dylan Maples is being brought to the small town of Cobalt, Ontario by his lawyer father while he works on a case. While there, Dylan becomes invested in the mystery of what happened to the missing silver.
I really enjoyed this book. I realize that this is probably aimed at middle and high school kids, but I loved it. Growing up just east of the Ontario/New York border, I go to Canada a few times a year and watch a LOT of hockey. I learned a bit about the history of the NHL, which was cool, and I was engrossed in the story that Theo had to tell Dylan and Wyn. Seriously, I was sucked into this story and I know that my middle school self would have shoved it into all of my friends’ hands and tell them to read it. I’d highly recommend this book, especially if you like mystery, middle grade fiction, hockey, or stories about the past.

[JoJo F · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review, so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
Just when Dylan Maples is settling down after last summer's trip to Ireland's Eye, the parental units are at it again—planning another family adventure. Only this time, it's not a summer vacation, but an extended trip way up north to Cobalt, Ontario, in the middle of a bitter winter. Once a thriving silver mining community, all that's left of the town's rich history are the long abandoned mines.
A Toronto millionaire has hired Dylan's dad to retrieve a fortune in silver allegedly stolen from his grandfather back in the early part of the twentieth century. But was the fortune really stolen? And if so, where has it been hidden? The answers to these questions reside with one man—Theobald T. Larocque, Cobalt's oldest citizen. But no one has seen him in years. And no one seems at all eager to help Dylan's dad locate him—except, of course, his devoted son Dylan, and Dylan's newfound friend and accomplice, Wynona Dixon.
The cover and title is what originally drew me to this book.
This is my first book by this author. It was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
3.5 star rating!

[Mills College Library]

Fiction P356s 2018