On his first morning there, he explores the creek, part of a county park. To his surprise, he finds a possum caught in a trap. Soon, he's trying to find the poacher with the help of his new friends Bits, Tiny, Lynn, and Mike. But can they solve this mystery?

This is a great start to breathing new life into the Sugar Creek Gang name. The characters are well developed, and all have something to contribute to the group and the plot. The story moves along well, and the spiritual side of the story is fully explored without stopping the action.

This is a book that kids of all ages should enjoy. I'm looking forward to reading the further adventures of the New Sugar Creek Gang.

This is a good mystery that kept me guessing until the last minute. The clues and red herrings are everywhere. Not to give anything away, but I didn't even interpret all the clues correctly. Yet, everything fit together perfectly in the end. The characters were really intriguing, too. I loved some of the interaction between Jack and Ev. I highly recommend this excellent book.

Leann Arndt, Reviewer

In 37,000 BC France, Gar the Neanderthal Shaman worries about how the Real People will survive the influx of this new race of hairy invaders. Gar places his concern for the future on hold when he comes upon the decapitated corpse of one of his people. Hovering nearby is a Neanderthal female and her half-breed son. In the general area of where the deceased lies also stands one of the others, a female Cro Magnon.

Gar quickly realizes that the two females know each other and deeply loathe one another. Though he prefers to ignore the brutal death, for the survival of his clan, he must to learn who killed a member of the Real people and why. Gar also decides to find out what has caused these two individuals to hate each other so much. Fifty millenniums of tribal history may not be enough to guide Gar into the virgin area of sleuthing.

As far as this reviewer knows, Sandy Dengler has pioneered a new sub-branch of the historical mystery with her prehistoric who-done-it. The adventurous story line is highlighted by an anthropological look into two divergent societies striving for world mastery. Though much is unknown and speculative, Ms. Dengler makes both cultures seem genuine as if recorded history guided her hand. Though the emphasis on food gathering becomes a bit much, the novel remains a superb mystery. For anyone who wants something a bit different with their mysteries, HYAENAS is the answer, hopefully with future novels starring Gar and company.

Harriet Klausner