 Menace in the Walls
Middle Grades mystery
N.L.Eskeland, Ph.D
Science2Discover,
Inc. Del Mar, CA Interesting
read ... Recommended ... 5 stars Book opens with a raging flood,
13- year- old Joshua Keegan has accompanied his mother, a pediatric
pulmonary specialist, to the ER. While tending the flood victims
Joshua's mother is troubled to realize she is seeing another
infant presenting the symptoms of nosebleed, coughing, congestion
and lung damage that she had seen not long ago. During his stint
at the hospital Joshua decides he would like to spend the summer
working at the hospital, maybe in the lab. Joshua meets Dr. Tang,
is fascinated to learn that much of the research being conducted
centers around bacteria and molds and sets to work to learn everything
he can. Before long Joshua makes a surprising discovery, and
his favorite horse dies. Joshua sets out to discover how the
babies have died and how the death of his beloved horse might
figure in the mix. Missing data, missing cultures, the medical
examiner is called in and a peculiar man seems to be following
Joshua.
This fiction based in a true
incident that took place in Cleveland OH during the mid 1990s
resulted in the deaths of several young children is a tribute
to the efforts of the writer. From the opening line when medics
plead "Let Us Through" down to the last paragraph when
Joshua's efforts are at last understood, the book is a gripping
read. Writer Eskeland has taken a true life event, placed it
in a mystery and peopled it with enough characters to keep the
reader turning page after page to come to a satisfying conclusion.
Eskeland has crafted a well wrought tale in which emergency room
procedures, lung infection, microscope slides, staining, cultures,
microbes, a deadly mold 'Stacybotrys' and the concept of spores
have been interwoven into the narrative. Joshua Keegan and his
sister Kelley are typical kids who bicker among themselves, but
come together when need be.
This is a book sure to tickle
the fancy of both boys and girls in the classroom. A must have
for the middle grade student.
Happy to recommend.
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