Yours Truly: 09/06/17

Yours Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick is the second book in the middle grade Pumpkin Falls mystery series. It's Truly's birthday but the festivities have to be postponed because the maple syrup season has begun and the entire town needs to help with the tapping of the trees.

Tensions are running high in the town as they prepare for the maple syrup tourist season. First there's the harvest and the rendering — with forty gallons of sap being needed to make about a half gallon of syrup. Then there's the baking contest where locals put together their best maple syrup themed recipes. But this year — someone is sabotaging the lines and precious sap is being lost!

Like the first book, Absolutely Truly, this one has two mysteries: a modern day one and a historical one. The historical mystery relates to the first Truly (originally named Trudy) and her participation in the Underground Railroad. To round out this part of the story, there are numerous excerpts from Truly's diary.

The Lovejoy family history is a nice way to fill out this mystery as the present day mystery is rather straightforward. It won't take much for an observant reader to solve the mystery before either the Pumpkin Falls Private Eyes or the adults do. But it doesn't matter because Frederick populates her books with well-rounded characters and enough local color to make anyone want to visit Pumpkin Falls (even during the mud season).

Five stars

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