A Seckatary Hawkins Mystery - The Gray Ghost

The Seckatary Hawkins series is a unique one. The series follows a group of young boys on a Kentucky river bank who face some very dangerous, even life-threatening situations while trying to solve mysteries around them. They have their own clubhouse, hold regular meetings, require the boys to pay dues (a dime), and even keep minutes of their meetings and adventures - hence, the title character earning the name "Seckatary" Hawkins (as he admits that when he first was selected to keep the minutes, none of them could properly spell "Secretary").  The author, Robert F. Schulkers, provides detailed descriptions of the riverbanks, forests, fields, mountains, hills, and treacherous waters the boys travel in, around, and through, and the numerous boys are some country hicks, others learned school boys, and others just down-right rotten tomatoes.

I picked up the two hardcover editions printed by University of Kentucky Press - Stoner's Boy (the first book in the series) and The Gray Ghost, which is a later book in the series that sees the return of the boys' great nemesis. While I've never been a fan of boys' series, I find as a adult that I am reading more of them than ever before (although, admittedly, I still gravitate to the girls' series, simply because they do tend to focus more on the mystery and less on general adventure). I did enjoy Stoner's Boy, so I was curious to see where The Gray Ghost would find these boys.

The Gray Ghost is the fourth book in the series, and it appears that between the first book and this one, our young protagonist and his friends have had some interesting adventures. Seckatary and the Skinny Guy (gotta love the nicknames these boys have!) traveled to Cuba with Doc, and upon their return, they faced off against the Red Runners, and all but two of them were caught and sent off to reform school. As this book opens, Seckatary is thinking about the loss of a friend, the escape of Androfski (the "Silent") and Jude (the "Fifth) from capture with the other Red Runners, and the boys' upcoming summer break from school. Just when they think they might have an uneventful summer, though, they get a warning tacked to their door - Stoner's Boy, also known as the Gray Ghost, is back!

Reading the story is very much like reading Seckatary's journal - he provides descriptions of the day to day activities of the boys, but focuses on the adventures and mysteries they seem to lock into, in this instance, with the various "bad boys" who all seem to have reason to pester Seckatary and his friends. The mystery in Burney's Field turns out to be very puzzling for the boys, as there appears to be a ghost with an unearthly cry that scares anyone who tries to go into the field. There is also the three with the hidden "mailbox" that allows Androfski to communicate with those who are helping him. Then there is the tree in Parks Woods - a unique tree that serves as a door for Simon Bleaker into a hidden cavern. With so much going on, you'd have to wonder how Schulkers manages to keep everything and everyone straight, but with 335 pages of story, there is plenty of room to flesh out the tale. Plus, readers get treated to a brief return by the twins, Harold and Oliver, and discovery once and for all the true identity of the Gray Ghost (Stoner's Boy).

A Kentucky boy myself, I enjoyed the writing style, as well as the story, and it's easy to see what attracted Harper Lee to these books.  I wish the UoK Press would reprint more of the books, but I suppose today's society just doesn't know how to appreciate the works of art from yesteryear.

RATING:  8 wild and angry unicorns out of 10 for keeping the past alive and providing a little slice of country life with a great mystery.