Category:  Children Publisher: Eakin Press ISBN-10:  1934645249 Type: Fiction Pages: 146 Copyright: 2009 ISBN-13: 9781934645246 When twelve-year-old Peter Bartholew's reclusive cousin dies, leaving him a metal detector and cryptic clues to a buried treasure, Peter and his friend Vin set sail for the mysterious Black Jack island. But things get complicated when they encounter a ghost and real pirates. "Beginning with WHERE THE PIRATES ARE, Tom Townsend has not yet exhausted his pirate knowledge." JoAn W. Martin Review Of Texas Books In 1985, Eakin Press published my first middle reader novel, WHERE THE PIRATES ARE. A year later it had broken all Eakin sales records, won the Friends Of American Writers Award and was a Bluebonnet Master List book. The story wa set in the eighteen-forties and was eventually followed by two sequels, THE DARK SHIPS & POWDERHORN PASSAGE. THE PIRATE HUNTER continues the story in the twenty-first century. Tom Townsend

The Pirate Hunter: The Treasure on Black Jack Island. Ghosts, Pirate treasure and friendship. Review by JoAn W. Martin, Review Of Texas Books
Peter Bartholomew is twelve, now too grown up for games. He might use the tree house for a fort when no one is around to see him. However, the walls of his room are hidden behind pirate movie posters and old maps.
He lives with his parents in an old beach house on the shore of Galveston Bay, the perfect place to become "obsessed" with pirates. Absolutely best of all, Peter has his own sailboat.
Peter loves to sail on Galveston Bay and pretend the tankers and freighters that go by are pirate ships. His dream is to find a buried treasure. All the books he has read tell about buried treasure, but none of them reveal where to dig.
A neighbor boy, Vin, hates everything about fishing, but his father insists that his son get outside. When he falls in the water, Peter comes to the rescue, but Vin only cares about getting back to his safe video games. Although Vin couldn't be less interested in sailing, his father offers to pay Peter if he will tach Vin to sail.
When Peter's reclusive cousin dies, he leaves a metal detector and a bunch of old papers to Peter. The bequest includes a map and instructions. Peter takes Vin out to an island to search with the metal detector. Is it his imagination, or does he sense he is being watched?
Peter's grandmother has always seemed to him llike a person from another time. Peter invites Vin to go with him for a visit, but Vin won't go unless he can be sure he has all the comforts of home. Thus this conversation;
"Well, I got all my perscriptions filled, but I don't know if three cans of insect repellent will be enough?"
"It's enough."
"And then, there's the problem of toilet paper."
"I've got it." From the cabin, Peter produced a roll sealed in a plastic bag.
Vin squinted for a closer look. "What brand is that?"
"Brand? I don't know, it's just . . . toilet paper."
A ghost appears on Peter's boat and offers help him find the treasure on Black Jack Island. The ghost says, "the fog may be your friend." When his grandmother wakes him, he realizes he has been dreaming, but the dream continues to haunt him. The boys draw a map with grid squares, checking off one at a time as they scan with the metal detector. Using an old pirate trick with Vin's yellow duck helps them escape the bad guys, but as Jenny says, "some treasures are not meant to be found."
Beginning with WHERE THE PIRATES ARE, Tom Townsend has still not exhausted his pirate knowledge. He has drawn two characters and given them opposite characteristics. Peter is serious about finding pirate treasure, but Vin is the least likely friend to help him.
The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter place the reader on a boat. With references to Smith Point, Baytown & Galveston Bay, anyone from the area feels right at home.
The author lists five more pirate books he has written for readers who can't get enough of pirate stories. A glossery of terms will help te less educated pirates.