National Parks Mysteries #11: Night of the Black Bear: A Mystery in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

This thrilling series roars back to life with the release of Mystery #13, Night of the Black Bear. Something very strange is going on in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A teenage girl is the latest victim in a growing number of bear attacks. Officials must figure out what's causing the bizarre bear behavior or close the park. Can the Landons help?

Soon Jack and Ashley are searching for answers with their new friends Yonah Firekiller, a 16-year-old Cherokee boy, and 14-year-old Merle Chapman, whose family once lived on park land. But a heated argument over ancestral land rights puts the Landon kids in the middle of a clash of cultures. Tensions mount when Merle is caught in a lie—a lie that leads straight to the heart-pounding solution.

This breathtaking new adventure features an afterword by a park naturalist on black bear behavior and the problems caused by tourists feeding wildlife. Night of the Black Bear is a fast-paced narrative treat filled with vivid descriptions of the natural, scientific, and cultural phenomena of Great Smoky Mountains National Park; a page-turner that will put this popular National Park high on the vacation wish-list of all young readers.

Alane Ferguson is an award-winning writer. Her first mystery, Show Me the Evidence, won the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Elizabeth, CO.

Award-winning author Gloria Skurzynski has written almost 60 children's books. Her non-fiction book, Almost the Real Thing, won the American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award. She has written several nonfiction books for National Geographic, including Are We Alone, an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book for Young People and an IRA/CBC Young Adults' Choice for 2006. She lives in Boise, ID.