When a cougar attacks a hiker in Mesa Verde National Park, the Landons have another mystery on their hands. Jack and Ashley are used to visiting parks with their wildlife veterinarian mother and photographer father, but this time their hands are full with a foster child called Lucky Deal. As Lucky and Jack become friends, Ashley becomes suspicious: What did Lucky take from the burn site? Who did she call in the night? In a midnight showdown at Spruce Tree House, Jack realizes there's more to fear than a killer cat. Cliff-Hanger weaves Native American folklore, natural science, and geography into a heart-pounding thriller. The afterword by Will Morris, Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services at Mesa Verde, outlines the dangers of cougar attacks and the need to protect wild animals.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-Jack Landon, 12, and his younger sister, Ashley, who appeared in three previous adventures, are about to leave for Mesa Verde National Park with their veterinarian mom and photographer dad when the family is called upon to accept a foster child, 13-year-old Lucky, on an emergency basis. Mrs. Landon has been called as a consultant to the area because a cougar has attacked a hiker. Ashley is thrilled, but Jack is not pleased to have a last-minute intruder on the family's trip. His attitude changes as he finds himself attracted to Lucky, but she refuses to answer any questions, won't tell anyone her last name, and makes statements that strain credibility. Ashley is quicker than Jack to catch on to some of the inconsistencies in the girl's behavior, partly because he does not want to believe that his sister is correct. Lucky's actions eventually lead all three youngsters into a life-threatening situation involving the cougar. Once they are rescued, Lucky escapes the family's custody and flees the country with her less-than-honest father. The well-developed plot moves right along, and the characters have definite personalities. Descriptions of actual places, their history, and the environment add to the ambience. A solid adventure story enhanced by an interesting study of honesty vs. deception.
Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
The third entry in the National Parks Mystery series features the Landon family (veterinarian mother, photographer father, 12-year-old Jack, and 10-year-old Ashley), which finds itself in Mesa Verde National Park, where Mrs. Landon is on the trail of a human-attacking cougar. But the Landons are not alone. With them is 13-year-old Lucky, whom they have taken into foster care on an emergency basis. Lucky immediately arouses suspicion, making mysterious calls in the middle of the night and taking things that aren't hers. But Jack is her friend (and thinks she's cute), so he protects her from questions. In a spine-chilling conclusion, Jack must try to save Lucky from both the cougar and her return to a life that Jack knows will cause her pain. The authors do a fine job of integrating lots of material into an exciting story. They neatly balance information about Mesa Verde National Park with details of Lucky's life as a scam artist, and they keep the threat of the deadly cougar hanging over everything. Readers will look forward to the next in the series. Ilene Cooper
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Info about nature and parks or a teen story? Which is it? Cause it ain't both!,
By
This review is from: Cliff-Hanger (Mysteries in Our National Park) (Hardcover)
Cliff-hanger (an odd title when I think about the story) is the third in a series of books in the National Geographic Society's "National Parks Mystery" series. This is the first one I've read.In the story, twelve year old Jack is mysteriously attracted to a mysterious foster teen mysteriously named "Lucky Deal" doing mysterious things that the family mysteriously accepts from a shelter just a day before Jack's mom goes on assignment in Mesa Verde National Park to investigate mysterious cougar attacks on people. I guess this is why the book is considered a "mystery." Jack, a precocious 12, is attracted to Lucky like a moth to a flame. He won't rat on her. He protects her. He wants to be with her. She's mysterious! And she is 13. Jack's sister, Ashley, another precocious 9 (or 11? I forget) year old, isn't attracted to Lucky. In fact, she is down right suspicious. Lucky is full of mystery. But this is also the story of Mesa Verde and that cougar. Apparently, the cougar the Park killed was not the one attacking people. In the spirit of National Geographic, what do we learn about cougars? "'...when I examine its scat, I found it full of deer hair. That means the cougar had been feeding just a short while before it supposedly attacked. With a full stomach [what was in the stomach?], it would have had no reason to go searching for another mean. So why would it have gone after a small child?'" (p. 56). How about, in the delay between an attack and its eventual death, it caught and ate a deer? "'Every animal has the right to be here,' he began. 'We're trying to find the problem cat and get that particular animal out of the park. The rest of the cougars are necessary for keeping the ecological balance, meaning that if you take one link out of the natural chain, the entire chain becomes weak'" (p. 64). This is very simplistic, even for this book. "' Things...happen. It's risky to be in wild places. Visitors accept that because the trade-off is so great - the beauty, the chance to see nature untamed, including the wild animals'" (p. 91). Actually, people expect trails and visitor areas in parks to be very safe. Lawsuits filed against governments when attacks occur indicate this, and juries tend to agree (look up the Orange County, California, lion attacks). "'Finally, it makes sense,' she said. 'You've solved it, Ashley - that collar means the cougar wasn't wild. Someone had raised it as a pet - found it when it was a cute little cub and kept it penned up. Then it grew big and got too hard to handle, so the owner let it loose. Probably brought it here to the park and set it free'" (p. 138). No, truly wild bears and lions can also kill people. At the end of the book, there is a brief essay written by Mesa Verde National Park's Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services. He writes, "Our natural fear of the cougar is not without cause. Cougars attacking people, as in this book, are events that are rare, but they do occur" (p. 150). Correct! If you like the genre of mysteries written in the context and location of national parks and monuments, look up Nevada Barr's novels, featuring law enforcement ranger Anna Pigeon. I encourage you to read them in sequence.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ryan Cesci's review,
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Cliff-Hanger (Mysteries in Our National Park) (Paperback)
Cliff -HangerI thought that the book was the best book i every read. IT kept making me think what was going t happen next. It kept making you want to read more and more. The story is about a boy named Jack , his sister Ashley ,and their parents Olivia and Steven. Their mom is a veterinarian and she goes to parks and help solve strange things that happen with the animals. Their dad is a professional photographer and he goes on trips with Olivia to take pictures. Their mom and dad are emergency care foster parents, so sometimes they take the foster kid on the trip with them. In this story they go to Mesa Verde National Park to solve the mystery of the cougar attacks. The day before they left they had to bring a foster kid named Lucky deal but Jack wants to trust her but he doesn't know if he can. I would recommend this book to someone around my age 10-12 or a person who likes mystery books. This book is also in a series of 7 other books
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Entertaining Book,
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Cliff-Hanger (Mysteries in Our National Park) (Hardcover)
This book was great! My favorite part was when the cougar came into the story. I read the book in one day because it was so good and I just couldn't stop reading! It was interesting to learn about the Hopi people and the way they lived. In this book I learned a lot about cougars and people who lived long ago. The book was exciting and full of suspence.
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