The Mystery of Mystic Mountain - by Janet Fox

About the Book

Twelve-year-old Becca's unwelcome trip to a dude ranch turns adventurous when she and the wrangler's son uncover clues to the lost treasure of Pearlhandle Pete.

Book Synopsis

An Edgar Award Nominee
Longlisted for the Reading the West Book Award

A girl tackles a vacation filled with mystery, treasure, and learning to be her true self in this middle grade "frothy summer adventure...which bristles with gentle thrills and chills" (Publishers Weekly) that's a modern-day Holes set on a dusty dude ranch in Montana.

Becca Soloway's perfect summer goes up in smoke when her mom flees a looming divorce by dragging Becca to a Montana resort. To make matters worse, her mom's hasty booking lands them not at a spa, but an aging dude ranch called Far Away.

Becca is miserable until she meets the wrangler's son, Jon, who shows her what might be the first clue to a century-old mystery: the lost treasure of a Robin Hood-like outlaw known as Pearlhandle Pete.

As they slowly uncover the true history of Pete, venture into the mountains, search haunted ghost towns, and are threatened by a treasure-hunter-social-media-star, Becca discovers that treasure is in the eye of the beholder and the important things in life are always worth fighting for.

Review Quotes

A seedy, haunted Montana resort provides the setting for a brisk flurry of family changes, new friendships, self-searching, encounters with ghosts, and competitive clue gathering--all wrapped around old tales of outlawry and hidden treasure. A trial separation leading to a month's stay at the aptly named Far Away Ranch with her mom leaves 12-year-old Becca not only fretting about her parents' marriage but also herself, uncomfortably suspended between sticking with her geeky longtime boyfriend or hanging with a crowd of flashy A-listers back in Connecticut. Meanwhile, a trail of suddenly surfacing clues lead her, with friendly new allies Jon and Liam, into the mountains on horseback on a search for supposed loot left by a mysterious Robin Hood-ish bank robber renowned in local lore--with another guest, self-aggrandizing YouTube star and treasure hunter Tad Lochster, in hot pursuit. Fox stuffs her tale with classic mystery, adventure, and coming-of-age tropes and ties most of them together with expert ease in the wake of a suitably tense and spooky climax with riches of both the shiny and the intangible sorts at the end. She also keeps things simple so that Becca's personal choices are clear-cut and readers will have no trouble approving of both them and the final comeuppance of the thoroughly villainized Lochster. A pleaser for fans of uncomplicated Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys-style exploits. --Booklist Online "10/18/2024"

An adventure story that keeps readers guessing. Becca's summer plans are not working out. She would rather stay home to spend time with her new friend, the ­ever-popular Kasie, and the cute boy who just started noticing her, instead of joining her mom on a girls' trip to a spa resort. When they arrive to find that her mom booked the wrong place, the disasters keep coming. Far Away dude ranch has no Wi-Fi signal so she can keep in touch with her friends or her dad (she wonders if he even misses them). The clothing she brought was meant for a spa, not a ranch. Things begin to change when Becca opens up and makes new friends, and together they tackle a treasure hunt that requires them to solve puzzles, and for each of them, grow a sense of self. Fox deftly weaves a high interest plot with facets of young people's real lives. Solving treasure puzzles isn't something one gets to do every day, but trying to figure out who you are, and who your true friends are, is a universal experience. ­Readers will connect with at least one of the many characters who are uncomfortable with themselves and, perhaps, also find ways to come to appreciate who they are. VERDICT A great read for all fans of mysteries, puzzles, true love, and friendship.--School Library Journal "11/1/24"

Twelve-year-old Becca hadn't planned on being dragged to a ranch in Montana for her summer vacation, and with wildlife warnings and a spotty internet connection, Far Away Ranch is a far cry from the resort spa she'd been promised. Hoping to salvage her summer, Becca befriends Jon, a boy her age whose father works on the ranch. With a notebook full of his great-grandmother's tales about legendary outlaw Pearlhandle Pete, Jon is determined to track down Pete's hidden bounty, rumored to be on nearby Mystic Mountain. Becca and Jon team up, along with two other kids staying at the ranch, to solve a generations-old mystery involving a treasure map, bank heists, ghosts, and family secrets. The stakes are raised when a smarmy social media influencer lets on that he plans to unearth Pete's fortune first, and by any means necessary. Becca and Jon embark on a thrilling, and sometimes haunting, journey that will change both their lives. They also open up to each other, Jon missing his late mother and great-grandmother and Becca worrying about her parents' separation and her middle-school friendship woes. With themes of family, grief, and loss, Fox has crafted a multifaceted mystery novel with even more to the story than clues and riddles.--Horn Book "January/February "

Against a rural Western backdrop, rumors of a hidden treasure pull two young people into an adventure.

Becca, who's nearly 13, had different hopes for her summer, ones that didn't involve leaving Connecticut to bond with her mom at Get Away Ranch, a Montana resort that promises yoga and cooking classes, a spa and swimming pool, and more. Due to a mix-up, they end up instead at rustic Far Away Ranch, with its spotty internet and more down-to-earth facilities. Meanwhile, Jon, who's almost 14, is working at the ranch with his dad. He's heard stories from his great-grandmother about the founding of a famous nearby ghost town, Piney Woods, and the treasure left somewhere in the area by an outlaw in the mid-1800s. Jon, who possesses a clue to the treasure's whereabouts, invites Becca to help him search for it. They follow interconnected clues and, after some missteps, learn to trust each other. All the while, Becca is trying to figure out who she is and what kind of friend she can be, both in Montana and back home. Vivid, poetic descriptions bring the setting and characters into focus, and the mystery maintains a strong pace. An overbearing YouTube personality, who's also pursuing the treasure and chases after the kids, feels more like a caricature of a bad guy, however. Main characters are cued white.A well-written mystery adventure bolstered by high stakes and a burgeoning friendship. --Kirkus Reviews "10/1/2024"

Following her parents' separation, almost 13-year-old Becca Soloway looks forward to reconnecting with her mother on a "girls-only vacation," despite missing out on beach shenanigans with her friends and crush. But Far Away Ranch fails to fulfill Becca's expectations, offering no spa treatments, no wi-fi, no yoga or cooking classes; it's just a "weird," sprawling Montana lodge with hints of "something magical" within its walls. When Jon, a ranch hand near Becca's age, recruits her help in finding the long-lost treasure of local hero Pearl-Handled Pete, Becca is eager to make a (cute) new friend and do something to impress the "in crowd" back home in Connecticut. While chasing clues, meeting otherworldly spirits, and rebuffing a greedy social media star, Becca learns that the only treasures worth fighting for are the kind that can't be spent. Convenient plotting and inconsistent characterizations aside, thoughtful conversations about death, friendship, shifting family dynamics, and the power of storytelling permeate this frothy summer adventure by Fox (Carry Me Home), which bristles with gentle thrills and chills. Jon and Becca cue as white. Ages 8-12. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary. (Oct.)--Publishers Weekly "8/5/2024"

About the Author

Janet Fox is an author, mom, outdoor enthusiast, and former teacher. She's been to the bottom of the ocean in a submersible and had a brief fling with rock stardom. Her award-winning stories include picture books through young adult novels but have won her fans of all ages. She lives in Bozeman, Montana. Find out more at JanetSFox.com.