Whiz Tanner and the Secret Tunnel

by Fred Rexroad

Overview

While working to settle a school-yard bet on the existence of a DeLorean automobile in Farmer Zimmer’s barn, Tanner-Dent Detectives, Agents M and K, find more than an old car. A simple excursion to find out what’s going on, leads our heroes into the middle of a robbery—of a Top-Secret nature. Whiz and Joey conjure up more trouble than they’ve ever encountered and get some once in a lifetime experiences as a reward.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781946650047
Publisher:	Awesome Quest Mysteries
Publication date:	02/28/2018
Series:	Tanner-Dent Mysteries , #3
Edition description:	Hardback Version ed.
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Fred Rexroad lives in Vienna, Virginia and writes mystery stories. His life has been an eclectic array of locations and interests. He's lived in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, West coast, Midwest, South, Europe, and on a boat. He's printed cigar boxes, owned a magic store, flew a plane, built an ultralight, worked as a self-employed statistical analyst, photographed oil spills and shifting sandbars from a helicopter for the US Coast Guard, taught at Wright State University, solved logistics problems for the US Air Force, trained NATO personnel in the use of computer programs, wandered unarmed in warzones, was the top operations research analyst at the US Department of Education, did top-secret analysis for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and found some time to write children's stories. He's still trying to decide what he wants to be when he grows up.

Editorial Reviews

"Another highly entertaining Tanner-Dent investigation." --Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2018-05-15
In this third adventure in a series, two sixth-grade detectives investigating a mysterious DeLorean discover a hidden tunnel and nefarious shenanigans.When a schoolyard argument ensues over whether someone really was pushing a DeLorean into Farmer Zimmer's barn near the abandoned secret Air Force antenna station, the kids know who can provide the answers: the Tanner-Dent Detective Agency, consisting of sixth-graders Wilson "Whiz" Tanner and Joey Dent, who narrates the book. (They also know enough to make a Back to the Future reference.) With their well-equipped secret crime lab and Whiz's "super-duper brainpower," the duo has already solved several mysteries in Jasper Springs that confounded local police. After dodging some bulls in Farmer Zimmer's field, the agents do discover the DeLorean in his barn—along with some puzzling elements, like a large hole with a ladder in it. Further surveillance shows that Donald and Cal, two suspicious men, are digging a tunnel toward the Air Force station in order to steal a large safelike object for an unknown buyer. With adults hard to convince, the boys know it's up to them to nail the thieves, so they conceive a daring, technologically advanced, and patriotic plan to expose the villainous plot, hoping once again to show the power of meddling kids. Rexroad (Whiz Tanner and the Vanishing Diamond, 2018, etc.) provides another pleasing entry in this series, which, despite its modern setting has the vintage feel of Donald J. Sobol's Encyclopedia Brown books or Robert Anthony Jr.'s Three Investigators series. This is partly due to the lack of any real danger in the story as well as Joey's love of root-beer floats, plus Jasper Springs' poor cellphone coverage—meaning old-fashioned communication difficulties (that happen to be convenient for the plot). But Rexroad does introduce modern investigative tools and techniques like geotagging, drones, and pattern-recognition programs, which are used to good effect in solving the mystery. The book moves at a cracking pace with several exciting episodes that require courage and resourcefulness from Whiz and Joey, leading to an ending that's pure satisfaction. Joey, an ordinary, sports-loving kid, supplies a relatable narrative voice that makes a good contrast with Whiz's precise diction and brainy vocabulary.Another highly entertaining Tanner-Dent investigation.

Kirkus Reviews