Think carefully... That's the advice Jean Wainwright always gets from her beloved Aunt Constance, Jean's guardian and headmistress at the boarding school where she lives. It's advice that proves valuable when Jean finds herself spending the summer far from home, sorting out family papers for the reclusive Mr. Thiel, a trustee of Aunt Constance's school and the widower of her childhood friend Irene Callender. At Mr. Thiel's isolated country estate, Jean is surrounded by bewildering questions from the past. Why is there such hatred between Mr. Thiel and his late wife's brother? Was her death an accident? And what happened to their child, who disappeared after Irene Thiel's death? Do the answers lie in the Callender papers? And will searching for the answers put Jean's own life in jeopardy?
Author
Cynthia Voigt is an American author of books for young adults dealing with various topics such as adventure, mystery, racism and child abuse. Awards: Angus and Sadie: the Sequoyah Book Award (given by readers in Oklahoma), 2008 The Katahdin Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003 The Anne V. Zarrow Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003 The Margaret Edwards Award, for a body of work, 1995 Jackaroo: Rattenfanger-Literatur Preis (ratcatcher prize, awarded by the town of Hamlin in Germany), 1990 Izzy, Willy-Nilly: the Young Reader Award (California), 1990 The Runner: Deutscher Jungenliteraturpreis (German young people's literature prize), 1988 Zilverengriffel (Silver Pen, a Dutch prize), 1988 Come a Stranger: the Judy Lopez Medal (given by readers in California), 1987 A Solitary Blue: a Newbery Honor Book, 1984 The Callender Papers: The Edgar (given by the Mystery Writers of America), 1984 Dicey's Song: the Newbery Medal, 1983
