The Riverwood Rascals

The Riverwood Rascals series begins with The Riverwood Rascals: A Summer of Secrets, Courage, and Friendship, a fast-moving middle-grade mystery filled with hidden maps, river tunnels, buried treasure, and unforgettable friendship. Twelve-year-old Theo Mercer expects an ordinary summer of chores and harmless trouble. Instead, a lost camera leads him to a secret involving his late mother, Riverwood's founding families, and valuable public land powerful adults will do anything to control.

Joined by careful Mateo, resourceful Jace, sharp-eyed Nora, and determined young Noah, Theo follows clues from a church fence and moonlit cemetery to a haunted mansion, flooded cavern, and forgotten chamber beneath the town. But every discovery raises the stakes. An innocent man is blamed, trusted leaders hide dangerous truths, and the friends must decide whether courage means racing ahead-or telling the truth, asking for help, and protecting one another. Their greatest challenge is not simply finding Riverwood's treasure, but understanding who it belongs to.

Warm, suspenseful, humorous, and emotionally rewarding, The Riverwood Rascals: A Summer of Secrets, Courage, and Friendship is perfect for readers who love clever young detectives, small-town secrets, daring escapes, and mysteries rooted in history. With themes of loyalty, family, justice, responsibility, and the bravery required to come home, this exciting adventure delivers page-turning danger without losing its heart. The mystery may begin with a hidden key, but its greatest discovery is that no hero succeeds alone. An uplifting choice for readers, classrooms, families, and anyone who believes shared truth can transform a whole town.