This new story follows Trouble at Turtle Pond, where Miles and his crew of Backyard Rangers saved turtles in the town. Now he is faced with adjusting to a new school and his ADHD isn’t making things any easier.

There’s also a new wildlife mystery in the town of Marsh Hollow. Crowds of people, both amateurs and professionals, are arriving in the town to see Bella, the horned owl. With the extra human interaction a problem becomes evident: the delicate ecosystem for the owls is being disturbed providing deadly results.

Miles and his friends launch a campaign to protect their feathery friends. This soon leads to Miles discovering someone is baiting and trapping owls. The mystery deepens and the suspect list grows focusing on other kids, wildlife photographers, birders, and neighbors,

The first person narration by Miles lets readers experience his way of thinking and learn how frustrating it can me at times dealing with his parents and certain teachers. Tensions also grow within his friend group. The 43 chapters will have you guessing the guilty party along with finding many authentic kid like situations. Each of the following will be familiar and are resolved in a believable way: assuming too much about others, lying, and doing something you shouldn’t be doing .

THE OWL PROWL MYSTERY will encourage both those already into birding to continue their quest and at the same time bring new birders into the fold. You can also read this one if you haven’t read the first. Friendships, problems solving, and great characters make this environmentally themed plot a good choice for your middle grade shelves

BOOK BIRTHDAY: August 13, 2024 PAGE COUNT: 282

FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: THE OWL PROWL MYSTERY by Diana Renn

1. The interactions Miles has with adults and classmates are realistically portrayed. His frustrations often surface at the wrong time and misunderstandings eventually lead to seeing things differently.
2. You learn a lot about owls and ways to keep them safe. What they eat and their feeding habits are also included and you’ll be understanding owls at a much deeper level. Fascinating birds!
3. The characters go right into detective mode to solve the mystery including linking a group of suspects with their reasons for possibly trapping the birds. Sounds like they may have seen a few detective shows!
4. It was fascinating how they used owl pellets to deepen their knowledge about what was possibly happening to the birds.
5. ADHD characters are often labeled as such in literature but that’s as far as it goes. Here we get a deeper understanding with strategies that help those who process in this way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Diana Renn is the author of two middle grade eco-mysteries: Trouble at Turtle Pond (Fitzroy Books/Regal House, 2022) and The Owl Prowl Mystery (coming from Fitzroy Books in 2024). Trouble at Turtle Pond was named a 2023 Green Earth Book Awards Honor Book and has been longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award. She is also the author of three young adult mysteries, Tokyo Heist, Latitude Zero, and Blue Voyage, all published by Viking / Penguin Random House. In addition, Diana writes nonfiction; she is the recipient of a 2022 Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship Award for creative nonfiction, and her essays have appeared in Flyway Journal of Writing and Environment, Pangyrus, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Publishers Weekly, The Huffington Post, Mindful, Brain Child, Literary Mama, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer. Originally from Seattle, Diana now lives outside of Boston with her family, where she feels fortunate to count turtles and owls among her neighbors. You can learn more about Diana at www.dianarennbooks.com or connect with her on Twitter (@dianarenn) or on Instagram (@dianarennbooks).

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