Author: Albert A. Bell, Jr.

Publisher: Ingalls Publishing Group, Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-932158-79-3 

An aging cemetery, a puzzling tombstone, and the discovery of a human skeleton stir up a summer mystery that middle-grade readers won’t be able to put down. The Secret of the Lonely Grave, by history professor Alfred A. Bell, Jr., is a compelling work of historical fiction that wraps significant events from America’s past in a contemporary plot. Eager readers will be turning pages all the way to the climactic discovery of human remains in a forgotten tunnel that has existed underfoot in a small Kentucky town for more than a century.

On the first day of summer vacation, best friends Steve and Kendra notice that someone is leaving flowers on a grave marker in the cemetery they’ve passed every day on their way to school. Not only does this particular grave lie some distance from the others in the cemetery, the headstone indicates a six-year-old girl was buried there in the mid-1800s. Steve and Kendra plan a stakeout to catch whoever is leaving the flowers on the long-ignored marker, and they are soon introducing themselves to a kind college professor who recently lost his wife and who, like Steve and Kendra, has taken an interest in the lonely grave. 

A summer of research guided by their new friend Doc leads Steve and Kendra to the realization that the mystery of the young girl goes deeper than they expected. They come across hints that the Underground Railroad may have run right through their western Kentucky town. The close-lipped attitude of Steve’s grandparents gives him the uneasy feeling that his own ancestors may have taken part in the public shunning and ultimately bloody betrayal of a brave local family that had helped escaped slaves find freedom more than a hundred years before.

Bell masterfully ties valuable historical lessons to the exploits of modern-day characters who tackle contemporary challenges such as bullying, single-parent families, and child abuse. Although the deeper message of his story centers on themes of racism, bigotry, and what a small town was capable of doing to prevent slaves from going free, the discussions are imparted through modern characters to whom readers will readily relate. This book is, in essence, a meaningful history lesson, but it is so well told that middle-grade readers will actively absorb the information and come away more knowledgeable about topics such as slavery, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the inherent and serious risks some people were willing to take to help captive people find freedom.

This book is a thoroughly satisfying and thought-provoking read. I would highly recommend it to history teachers and to any young reader interested in the era of the Underground Railroad and what it meant for America today.

The above review was contributed by: Jennifer MacKay: Jenny has published hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. She is also a journals copy editor for Sage Publications and does independent consulting as a developmental book editor. Her chief writing and editing interests are in the juvenile market.