Samantha Wolf Mysteries, Book Nine - The Mystery of Old Gully Trail

After the rather turbulent events in the last book, author Tara Ellis tones down the mystery a bit for the ninth book in the Samantha Wolf series. It's actually been kind of nice to read a series where the characters grow, not only physically, but emotionally and intelligently as well, and where the mysteries vary, so that there is not just a standard, formulaic plot in each book.  Samantha and her friends, Ally and Cassy, have matured as the series has progressed, having learned from experience - and Sam has even learned to accept the punishment her parents dole out each time she breaks the rules to solve a mystery (even if she breaks the rules for a good cause!).  It's actually rather refreshing to read a series where actions actually do have consequences (as they would in the real world), so I give Ellis props for keeping it real.

The Mystery of Old Gully Trail opens at the end of the school year, with the girls helping Cassy's aunt clear out some trails for her horse-riding classes.  They happen across a young girl, who is rather precocious and who happens to be lost (not that she will admit that).  It turns out she is a descendant of Old Man Gully, who owned a house set deep in the woods, and about whom are plenty of stories told in town that keep the kids away from the place!  Of course, it's not really haunted, and the young girl lives there with her aunt and uncle.  Her name is Penelope Gully, but everyone calls her Penny for short.

Now, let's stop a moment and think about that name.  "Penelope."  That is not a generally used name for girls, and yet when it comes to children's mystery series, there are two series from back in the day that used this same name for the title character (and both series happened to be written by the same author - Mildred Wirt Benson!).  Penny Nichols and Penny Parker.  The formal name for both characters was Penelope, and yet both went by the name Penny to all who knew them.  I find it very interesting that Ellis would chose this name for the character, and have to wonder if perhaps Ellis is familiar with those series by Benson and inserted the name as a way to pay homage to those characters from the '30s and '40s.

In any event, let's get back to the story, shall we?  Penny, as the descendant of Old Man Gully, inherited the property, including all of the riding trails on the property, and her aunt is managing her affairs until she turns legal age.  Everything seems just fine, until her aunt reveals that someone is trying very hard to buy the property, and they are taking legal action to prove that the property never really belonged to Old Man Gully in the first place - meaning Penny could lose everything, including the elaborate tree house on the back of the property that Penny and her mother used to use.

The mystery of who is behind the legal action ties into the town's Founder Day celebration, as the citizens prepare to dig up and open a time capsule buried by the town's founders 100 years ago.  And, needless to say, one of those founders was Old Man Gully, and Sam, Ally, and Cassy are anxious to see what the old man buried in the capsule, as they are hoping it will provide evidence that Gully owned the property after all.  Along the way, there is a stolen medallion from the town library, an overheard conversation between two men about being double-crossed, and a hidden key that unlocks a box hidden deep within the woods, and you've got a fairly decent (and somewhat tame) mystery for the girls to solve.  Add into this the fact that young Penny is known for telling tall-tales, leaving them with the question of what to believe and what not to believe when she tells them something ("The Boy Who Cried Wolf" anyone?), and it provides a nice build up to a chase through the woods, a false accusation, and a surprising reveal as to who is trying to take the property from Penny!

Again, there's not really much danger in this mystery, but that's okay.  Ellis provides plenty of riddles to be solved and treasure hunts through the woods, and there is a scene involving Sam and Ally being chased through the woods by one of the bad guys that is rather humorous (and shows not only Sam's ingenuity and quick thinking, but also Ellis' talent for foreshadowing).  The final chapter provides a nice wrap-up to the story as Sam celebrates her birthday with her family and friends and receives a birthday gift surprise that she has been wanting for a while!

Aside from the "present-tense" story telling (not sure why that bothers me so much, but I still have difficulty with it and basically read it in past tense, regardless of how it is written), it's another great tale of Samantha Wolf and friends that is worth the read.

RATING:  8 "x"es that mark the spot out of 10 for keeping the variety in mysteries so each story is different and enjoyable!