Mystery at Star Lake

by Margaret Goff Clark

Two words were scrawled on the door in blood-red paint: "GET OUT". When Jeff goes to the Algonquin wilderness to help his Brother build an addition to the family cottage, he finds a frightening mystery. Someone is trying to force them out - and two cases of missing dynamite prove there is danger!

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Margaret Goff Clark was born March 7, 1913, in Oklahoma City, USA. At five, she and her family moved to Olean, New York. She attended Columbia University and State University in Buffalo, earning a bachelor’s degree in education. She began writing when her children were young and published her first book, The Mystery Of Seneca Hill in 1961. As a result, Ms. Clark was adopted into the Seneca Indian tribe in 1962.
Many of her books are based on her experiences traveling to parks and nature areas by camping trailer. The Clarks had a cottage in Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, and Death At Their Heels was written in 1975, after visiting it one summer. Most recently, Ms. Clark wrote books about endangered species in Florida, including the manatee and the Florida black bear. Her 1993 book on the endangered Florida panther was dedicated to her husband Charles R. Clark. In addition to books, Ms. Clark contributed over 200 short stories to magazines such as American Girl, The Instructor, Teen Talk and other Canadian and American magazines. Margaret Goff Clark passed away in 2003.

Reviews

[C. (Don't blank click my reviews, comment please! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Goff Clark is new to me and I blew through her “Mystery At Star Lake” adventure with relentless intrigue. She has been a well-known writer in the United States for over fifty years. Her specialty is culture, like her mystery about Seneca Aboriginals. They were so pleased they invited Margaret into their tribe. What a reception for one’s first book! She demonstrates great dedication to animal welfare through her books about endangered life, such as manatees as well as black bears of Florida. Nature certainly goes along with her passions and any work she publishes: be it non-fiction, magazine articles, or youth mysteries; is very reflective of that. She has enjoyed a cottage in the massive Ontario expanse, Algonquin Park, since the 1970s. "Death At Their Heels", 1975 is a product of her visits and so is this.

Star Lake, shaped as described and ensconced among other lakes, is a community of cottagers but as rugged as it gets. Mobility relies upon boating, a ride to the lake, and travel from the cities. You must be wise to the outdoors and to safety. A pre-teenager, Jeff, looks forward to proving his mettle to a much older brother by helping him expand their parents’ new cottage. If rapport between them sounds old-fashioned, keep reading because a sense of apprehension and danger rev up and don’t relax until the book concludes.

They find threats as bland as spray-painting“Get out”, a missing oar, and other attempts to tell the newcomers they ought to leave Star Lake. Discovering why this is and by whom, involves an interview with other cottagers, scouting the shore for fish-poaching nets, and allying with a family whose Father is unnerving. Daring but picturesque spying through the forest itself and Jeff’s film photography are memorable moments I savoured especially.