A determined teenage boy sets out to rescue a kidnapped girl and finds himself in a race against time to prevent an international crime.
When 17 yr old Jason Hunter sets out to discover the identity of the mystery girl at Ocean Drive he and his friends find themselves caught up in a risky intrigue.
Jason is delivering newspapers on his motorbike when a Mercedes sweeps out of a driveway in front of him. He loses control of his scrambler and almost ends up under the car’s wheels. An attractive teenage girl leaps out to ask if he is hurt, but before Jason can reply the girl is bundled back into the Mercedes and driven off.
Jason’s instincts warn him that the girl is in trouble. The following day he sees her in an upstairs window, but when he asks to speak to her he is told that there is no young girl living there. Why?
Jason is not about to give up and he enlists the help of his friends, Mark and David. Together they make a daring attempt to learn the girl’s identity, but just as it seems to be working, things go horribly wrong... Has Jason’s intriguing mystery now put all three boys in danger?
Excerpt
If Jason had brought his motorbike to a stop before reaching into his delivery bag for a newspaper, his life would have been very different that summer.
As the black Mercedes swept out of a driveway, Jason and the driver saw each other at almost the same moment. Jason hit the scrambler’s brakes and swung it into a desperate swerve, but the back wheel locked and he went into a skid. He flew through the air and smacked into the towering brick gatepost before landing with a wallop on the grass verge. He watched helplessly as the scrambler slewed beneath the wheels of the car, which screeched to a stop with a smell of burning rubber.
The rear door flew open and a teenage girl scrambled out. Jason found himself looking into an attractive sun-brown face. Silky black hair fell about her face and framed hazel eyes wide with concern.
"Are you all right?" She had a trace of an accent.
"I think so," he managed, reddening when he realised how stupid he must look with blood oozing from his elbow and knee, and his nose and cheeks lit up by blobs of fluorescent green sun block. He'd come straight from the beach and was going back after his paper round.
Tossing the hair from her face, she knelt to help him. He caught her staring at his T-shirt, the front of which was emblazoned `HELP A HORNY FRIEND'. He was about to explain about the rhino foundation when a middle-aged woman leapt from the car and roughly took the girl’s arm.
"Tessa," she hissed, yanking the girl back into the car.
Angry words were exchanged in a language Jason didn't recognise. The woman’s harsh angry screech, and the short dark hair scraped back from her face reminded Jason of a crow.
The driver had retrieved the scrambler from beneath the car's wheels and was busy examining the Merc's bodywork for damage. Powerfully built with a square head and droopy black moustache, he looked like an irate pirate as he checked the car's underside. Satisfied that there was no damage he turned his angry attention to Jason.
"Look where you're going next time. This is an expensive car." His heavy accent matched his glowering face.
Jason spluttered a protest, but it was brushed aside as the man turned and climbed back behind the steering wheel. The massive wooden gates swished closed and the car purred off, leaving Jason to struggle to his feet.
The girl was peering through the back window. As their eyes met he was sure she mouthed “Help”. Stunned, he raised his hand to acknowledge that he’d understood, but when she tried to wave back the woman put a restraining hand on her arm. He was still staring after the car as it rounded the corner of Ocean Drive and sped towards the freeway.
Professional Reviews
Great book for kids and Young Adults
Loved it! Mystery at Ocean Drive brought me back to my time as a young girl, avidly devouring books in the Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden series. This one is perhaps better in line with Hardy Boys as our young hero is a boy, but the detective aspect is much the same. Perfect for kids age 8 and up, I will be giving this to my young nephew who is 9.
A young man and his close buddies manage to rescue a lovely young lady who is being held against her will by some sinister people in his neighborhood. There are some really exciting moments, some close escapes, and a charming romance (very tame one, mind you) to move the story along. I liked the strong family unit in the book, the supportive friendships, and the overall wholesomeness for lack of a better word. It just felt a bit like Nancy Drew-land where things might get scary but you know somehow there will be a happy ending. Indeed, Mystery at Ocean Drive gives us a happy ending, and I wish that there were more in the series!
The only confusing aspect I found was that I continually wondered where the story took place. The terminology seemed British but some of the areas mentioned just didn't seem to match up with the US or the UK...finally I figured out South Africa after a good deal of wondering. It's really a minor thing but I'm one of those people who likes to know "where" when reading.
Excellent read that any young person, male or female, can enjoy. (And by the way, adults who'd like an escape to the days of their youthful adventures with teenage sleuths will love it too.)
Very well done
This was a really enjoyable read with an interesting little mystery to go along with it. Very well-written, and I hope the author comes out with more like this one. Like another reviewer mentioned, it also reminded me of when I used to read Nancy Drew and the like. Good, clean fun, which is a breath of fresh air.
Amazing!!
This was such a great book. It took us on an adventure of teenagers trying to help other. The mysterious girl and the determined boy kept me on my toes. I read this book in 2 hours!! Amazing!!!
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