The Bootlegger's Secret

Book Reviews From Amazon.com .....

5 stars5.0 out of 5 stars The Bootlegger's Secret, July 18, 2010
By Brenda Casto (US)

The story takes place in Middleton Mn. in the summer of 1941. You have two eleven yr old boys, Mark Penn, whose dad was the local insurance agent and a respected member of the community, and Howard "Swede" Larson whose family was sort of looked down on. Everyone thought Mark shouldn't hang around Swede but they were best friends.They had even built a secret tree house down by the river where they could hang out.

One day while swimming they see a hood ornament so Swede dives down to take a look inside the car and finds a gold-inlaid cigarette case with the initials EK engraved on it. They boys take the case back to their tree house and find out that it has a few things inside. They decide to keep it a secret.

Soon though the police pull the submerged car from the river and discover a corpse inside, everyone assumes it Eddie Knowland, a local bootlegger that had ties to the mob who had been missing for eight yrs.

Soon there are t-men (treasury men) and a couple of mob hit men hanging out in town and they all want one thing they want the cigarette case and somehow they know the boys have it.

This is a very fast paced story full of mystery, murder and intrigue that keeps you turning the page and the ending was something even I didn't guess.

This story gives us a glimpse of life during an era that was much simpler, where kids had fun without TVs and other gadgets. I would love to read more about Mark and Swede. I hope the author turns this into a series because I feel like these two boys have much more to tell us. I would give this book a solid five and even though its geared for teens I think readers of all ages would enjoy it.


5 stars5.0 out of 5 stars An Old-Fashioned Adventure Novel, June 16, 2010
By sniffer sitts

THE BOOTLEGGER'S SECRET refects by-gone days prior to WW II, when life was slower and summer vacation from school was a time of freedom and adventures. No TV, cellphones, or other gadgets to keep youngsters indoors. The novel's youthful heroes have an honest-to-goodness treehouse hidden in a 40-foot oak along the Minnesota River.

We get a close look at grand events, now mostly gone: the circus, small town baseball, and a 4th of July parade with unexpected fireworks.

Mark Penn is the Middletown Aces' batboy and his pal Swede Larson is a ball shagger. One of the local farmers plays second base, a position he once played for the Chicago Cubs. Nostalgia oozes from every page.

This novel provides a compelling look at traditional American values, which our nation could use more of today.

5 stars 5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Read For Kids of All Ages, December 18, 2010
By Marylea S. Lombard

What a fun book, just good, clean, entertaining fun! It evokes an era long since gone, when times were simpler and kids were out and about finding their own fun without TV or electronic gadgets. It's a book for both adults and kids and I'd love to see it made into a movie. It would be a refreshing change from so many films offered today. It was fun from beginning to end and a well-written remembrance of what used to be.

5 stars 5.0 out of 5 stars In the tradition of Huck Finn - a classic boy book, December 6, 2010
By Julie A. Smith "Julie @ Knitting and Sundries" (Cleveland, Ohio United States)

I must first admit to a bit of "bad cover" antipathy towards this one; which is why it took me so long to get to it. I really need to start following the "never judge a book by it's cover" rule as I've read some books with wonderful covers (or tried to read them) that were just bleh! and some with horrid covers that were fabulous (like this one).

This isn't a "lyrical and evocatively written" book; it's a book with a great solid reading style that will put you in mind of Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and the like.

It's 1941 - Meet Mark and Swede, two tweens from different sides of the social spectrum, yet fast friends. Mark's father owns an insurance agency, and his mom works as a nurse at the local hospital. Swede's mother apparently suffers from a depression that leaves her bed-ridden, and his father is a violent drunk. Mark has two siblings; Swede has none.

Swede is the kid your parents warn you to stay away from - he nips from his father's gambling winnings while his dad is passed out at the kitchen table; he doesn't appear to have much of a moral conscience, and his future abode appears to be the juvenile detention center.

Mark, on the other hand, has a solid family, good values, and a HUGE crush on his former neighbor Cathy, whose big brother George is a sideways bully (the kind that pushes and instigates on the sly and then cries when he gets pushed or hit back).

Mark and Swede are spending time at the swimming hole when they come across a long-submerged Packard. In an attempt to get the hood ornament, Swede dives under the water and ends up going inside the car, where he finds a silver cigarette case. Even though he was unsuccessful in retrieving the hood ornament, he and Mark take their new treasure to an abandoned treehouse which has become their hangout spot. Inside is a picture of someone named Grace, which Swede attaches to the clubhouse wall, and some smokes, which he and Mark light up and try. Mark, coughing, puts his out right away and heads home.

The next day, as the boys are going to the swimming hole, there are police and a tow truck there pulling the Packard out. A body is found inside, which is eventually identified as that of Eddie Knowland, a bootlegger who disappeared eight years ago. The boys deny knowing anything about it, and there the story begins.

Who are the two men following them? Are they the federal agents or the bad guys? Who ransacked their treehouse? When the cigarette case and Grace's photo come up missing, who took them? When Swede disappears, where did he go? Did he leave on his own or did someone take him? Whose body is found in the trunk of the bad guy's car that was abandoned at the police station?

This is such a really good book; I'm going to re-read it with Bebe Boy James, who really liked Huckleberry Finn; it will be our next read-together book.

There are twists and turns and some unexpected surprises, all written in a fashion that makes you want to keep right on reading. I highly recommend this as a good middle reader, especially for reluctant boy readers.

QUOTES:

Fifty cents entitled them to see everything: side show, animal menagerie, and Big Top, where the opening spectacle - or spec - began at two-fifteen. They were so excited that they didn't notice the two men in dark suits and hats who were following them.

Swede wore a long-sleeved shirt to hide the red welts on his arms where his pa had whipped him with a belt - just because the old man had a hangover.

How did a man choose killing for his life's work? Mark imagined Steffano's son or daughter being asked by classmates, "What's your dad do for a living?" And they'd say, "Oh, he kills people".

(I received a complimentary copy of this title through Bostick Communications to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed are my own)


5 stars5.0 out of 5 stars When you're 11, you may play cops and robbers, but when in between real cops and robbers, life gets a lot more complicated, September 9, 2010

By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

When you're 11, you may play cops and robbers, but when in between real cops and robbers, life gets a lot more complicated. "The Bootlegger's Secret" tells the story of Mark and Swede, two eleven year old boys who get a gangster's cigarette case after he turns up dead. Now they find themselves aimed for by the treasury and Capone's gang alike, and there's nowhere safe. "The Bootlegger's Secret" is a read that shouldn't be missed for young fiction readers.

 

Book Reviews From Barnes & Noble

5 star read The Bootlegger's Secret a story you don't want to miss
kittycrochettwo
Posted July 18, 2010

The Bootlegger's Secret written by Michael Springer takes place in Middleton Mn. in the summer of 1941. You have two young boys Mark Penn and Howard "Swede" Lawson looking forward to summer. They have a tree house they built along the river and they love to hang out there and swim.

One afternoon while swimming they discover a hood ornament that is attached to a submerged car. When Swede dives down to check it out he finds a gold-inlaid cigarette case with the letters EK engraved on it. They take the case back to the tree house and discover a few things inside.

When the police pull up the submerged car and a body is found inside everyone assumes its the local bootlegger Eddie Knowland who has been missing for 8 yrs, and turns out he didn't drown but instead was shot. Next thing the boys know there are T-men (Treasury men) and the men from the mob hanging around town and they all want one thing they want the cigarette case or actually whats hidden inside.

Unfortunately for the boys they have lost the case or it has been stolen, but that doesn't stop the boys from being right in the middle of things.

This book is a very fast paced story that you just can't put down. Not only is there a few dead bodies the mob and the feds. You also have a story of small town life without the gadgets we depend on today. I hope the author turns this book into a series because it is just that good.


5 star read A fun read for kids of all ages

Maryjames
Posted July 1, 2010

What a fun book, just good, clean, entertaining fun! It evokes an era long since gone, when times were simpler and kids were out and about finding their own fun without TV or electronic gadgets. It's a book for both adults and kids and I'd love to see it made into a movie. It would be a refreshing change from so many films offered today. It was fun from beginning to end and a well-written remembrance of what used to be.



5 star read A fast paced, action packed, the lazy days of summer mystery.

ReadersFavorite
Posted February 22, 2012

This story is about eleven-year olds in the summer of 1941. Mark and Swede are best friends who are swimming in the river, experiencing a lazy and delicious summer day of do-nothing-ness when Swede takes a dive and finds a submerged car. AH! What is in this car? Could any young tween boy not be curious and take a look? Nothing doing! Swede finds a nice cigarette case. Now the mystery begins as he and Mark take the case back to their tree house. While checking out the case they find some interesting papers. Unknowingly, the two boys become caught between the good guys and the bad guys. This story is great, incorporating the work ethic into a boy's summer. The boys have chores to do and even when having fun they remember to go home and finish their jobs. This is somewhat of a Mayberry type read . . . murder, mayhem and malicious misdeeds take precedent but the people band together and you never feel that the boys are "out on a limb." However, I wouldn't classify this story to as gory or "yucky"---more realistic. A page-turning mystery that begs to be read in a day! A fast paced, action packed, the lazy days of summer mystery. A fantastic 4 star read for youth. I think all ages would enjoy this read.


5 star read In the tradition of Huck Finn

jewelknits
Posted December 6, 2010

I must first admit to a bit of "bad cover" antipathy towards this one; which is why it took me so long to get to it. I really need to start following the "never judge a book by it's cover" rule as I've read some books with wonderful covers (or tried to read them) that were just bleh! and some with horrid covers that were fabulous (like this one).

This isn't a "lyrical and evocatively written" book; it's a book with a great solid reading style that will put you in mind of Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and the like.

It's 1941 - Meet Mark and Swede, two tweens from different sides of the social spectrum, yet fast friends. Mark's father owns an insurance agency, and his mom works as a nurse at the local hospital. Swede's mother apparently suffers from a depression that leaves her bed-ridden, and his father is a violent drunk. Mark has two siblings; Swede has none.

Swede is the kid your parents warn you to stay away from - he nips from his father's gambling winnings while his dad is passed out at the kitchen table; he doesn't appear to have much of a moral conscience, and his future abode appears to be the juvenile detention center.

Mark, on the other hand, has a solid family, good values, and a HUGE crush on his former neighbor Cathy, whose big brother George is a sideways bully (the kind that pushes and instigates on the sly and then cries when he gets pushed or hit back).

Mark and Swede are spending time at the swimming hole when they come across a long-submerged Packard. In an attempt to get the hood ornament, Swede dives under the water and ends up going inside the car, where he finds a silver cigarette case. Even though he was unsuccessful in retrieving the hood ornament, he and Mark take their new treasure to an abandoned treehouse which has become their hangout spot. Inside is a picture of someone named Grace, which Swede attaches to the clubhouse wall, and some smokes, which he and Mark light up and try. Mark, coughing, puts his out right away and heads home.

The next day, as the boys are going to the swimming hole, there are police and a tow truck there pulling the Packard out. A body is found inside, which is eventually identified as that of Eddie Knowland, a bootlegger who disappeared eight years ago. The boys deny knowing anything about it, and there the story begins.

Who are the two men following them? Are they the federal agents or the bad guys? Who ransacked their treehouse? When the cigarette case and Grace's photo come up missing, who took them? When Swede disappears, where did he go? Did he leave on his own or did someone take him? Whose body is found in the trunk of the bad guy's car that was abandoned at the police station?

This is such a really good book; I'm going to re-read it with Bebe Boy James, who really liked Huckleberry Finn; it will be our next read-together book.

There are twists and turns and some unexpected surprises, all written in a fashion that makes you want to keep right on reading. I highly recommend this as a good middle reader, especially for reluctant boy readers.

QUOTE:

Fifty cents entitled them to see everything: side show, animal menagerie, and Big Top, where the opening spectacle - or spec - began at two-fifteen. They were so excited that they didn't notice the two men in dark suits and hats who were following them.



5 star read What the heck's a bootlegger?

JoeyJr
Posted June 17, 2010

When I saw the book title I thought, what the heck's a bootlegger? Once I got into the story I was hooked. And I found out what a bootlegger was. I never knew such people existed.

But the best part is about two kids who aren't looking for trouble but find it anyway. My summer is all set up by my Mom but these two guys, Mark and Swede have time for baseball, the circus, skinny dipping, a treehouse like I always wanted........just lots of FUN. I liked trying to figure out the puzzle.

I'd like to read more about Mark and Swede.