Hidden Valley
by
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Lee Jay and Maxwell reined in their mounts as the fleeing Cadillac neared the sheer cliff face bordering the ranch road. It was Maxwell’s favorite cliff – the one that put his head in a spin on his first day at the Lazy L Ranch. Lee Jay brought Rusty to a full stop and Maxwell did the same with Paint. They squinted at the road ahead. They were ready to bear witness to the departure from the Lazy L of Wimpy Flores and Strangler White. Not a huge task, but a happy one. Suddenly the Cadillac swerved. Astounded, Lee Jay let out a yell. Maxwell sat bolt upright, transfixed. They watched as the car drove off the road into a shallow ditch, then bounced along out of control. Without reducing speed, Wimpy Flores veered back to the road. But he wrenched the wheel too far. Now the vehicle was heading directly for the cliff wall! Tires shrieked. The car fishtailed, careening from side to side before finally straightening out. From there it bolted for the Canyon Highway like an electrified jackrabbit. Lee Jay’s eyes were the size of kitchen plates. She knew why Wimpy Flores had panicked. She was seeing the same thing Wimpy had seen. A face in the cliff! A face with glowering eyes! The face of Tyrannosaurus Rex! Just as quickly the majestic head disappeared. And the rock face was just a blank wall again. “Maxie!” Lee Jay groped for words. “Did…did you…did you see what I…?” Maxwell threw back his head and roared. “SEE IT? Of course I saw it, Lee Lee! I’ve seen it twice already!” Maxwell howled. He was ecstatic. He felt so smart he could barely stand it. He all but forgot his earlier reaction when he alone had seen the gigantic T-Rex glaring out at him from the rock wall. He had been petrified then. And who wouldn’t be? Coming eye to eye with a colossal creature from prehistoric times takes some getting used to. But he was over it now. Today Maxwell felt zero fear. All he felt was joy and triumph. And vindication!
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About the Book
Maxwell Harper knows what he likes, and what he likes are dinosaurs. But where can a sharp-eyed kid like Maxwell spot a genuine dinosaur these days? Make that dinosaurs … plural!
Tracking monsters was not even on the radar when Maxwell and his two sisters, Patty and Lee Jay, arrived at the Lazy L dude ranch in the Yakima Valley that hot August afternoon. In fact their young host at the Lazy L, Marty Lawrence, had heard all he wanted to hear about the prehistoric creatures. Dinosaurs! They were giving the Lazy L a bad name.
But could these reports be true? Did real-life dinosaurs really exist?
Maxwell was about to find out.
Meanwhile there were other sinister forces gathering in the valley. The Lazy L was under siege. Some big-city bad guys wanted to take it over, and they had the firepower to do it. And now, under a moonlit sky, two silent figures are seen moving among the valley’s ghostly shadows …
About the Author
Seattle writer Al Hooper is on a mission. He wants readers of all ages to share the same creative excitement he has enjoyed all his life.
It’s an excitement that can only be found in the mysteries of the printed page.
“Reading a book puts you in the action like nothing else,” Hooper says.
“You’re not just watching stuff happen, as with TV and other passive pursuits. You’re part of what’s happening. You’re experiencing a special time and place from the inside.”
Hooper’s previously published mystery novel, “Martial Law in Yakima,” drew on his involvement in the martial arts (he holds a black belt in two different systems).
“Hidden Valley” returns to the same general turf – the Yakima Valley in Central Washington. But this mystery, for readers 10 and up, is one for the prehistoric ages.
“Speaking for myself,” the author says, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” The primeval world, that is.
(Al Hooper is a longtime newspaperman who now freelances. His website is at E-HOOPER.com.)