Twelve-year-old Becca hadn’t planned on being dragged to a ranch in Montana for her summer vacation, and with wildlife warnings and a spotty internet connection, Far Away Ranch is a far cry from the resort spa she’d been promised. Hoping to salvage her summer, Becca befriends Jon, a boy her age whose father works on the ranch. With a notebook full of his great-grandmother’s tales about legendary outlaw Pearlhandle Pete, Jon is determined to track down Pete’s hidden bounty, rumored to be on nearby Mystic Mountain. Becca and Jon team up, along with two other kids staying at the ranch, to solve a generations-old mystery involving a treasure map, bank heists, ghosts, and family secrets. The stakes are raised when a smarmy social media influencer lets on that he plans to unearth Pete’s fortune first, and by any means necessary. Becca and Jon embark on a thrilling, and sometimes haunting, journey that will change both their lives. They also open up to each other, Jon missing his late mother and great-grandmother and Becca worrying about her parents’ separation and her middle-school friendship woes. With themes of family, grief, and loss, Fox has crafted a multifaceted mystery novel with even more to the story than clues and riddles.

The Horn Book

Thoughtful conversations about death, friendship, shifting family dynamics, and the power of storytelling permeate this frothy summer adventure by Fox , which bristles with gentle thrills and chills.

Publisher’s Weekly

Against a rural Western backdrop, rumors of a hidden treasure pull two young people into an adventure…Vivid, poetic descriptions bring the setting and characters into focus, and the mystery maintains a strong pace…A well-written mystery adventure bolstered by high stakes and a burgeoning friendship.

Kirkus

An adventure story that keeps readers guessing… Fox deftly weaves a high interest plot with facets of young people’s real lives. Solving treasure puzzles isn’t something one gets to do every day, but trying to figure out who you are, and who your true friends are, is a universal experience. ­Readers will connect with at least one of the many characters who are uncomfortable with themselves and, perhaps, also find ways to come to appreciate who they are. A great read for all fans of mysteries, puzzles, true love, and friendship.

School Library Journal

Fox stuffs her tale with classic mystery, adventure, and coming-of-age tropes and ties most of them together with expert ease in the wake of a suitably tense and spooky climax with riches of both the shiny and the intangible sorts at the end. She also keeps things simple so that Becca’s personal choices are clear-cut and readers will have no trouble approving of both them and the final comeuppance of the thoroughly villainized Lochster. A pleaser for fans of uncomplicated Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys–style exploits.

Booklist

This action-filled, coming of age, spooky mystery offers lots of surprises. This book grabs you early with the promise of treasure and ghosts. Fox expertly weaves the threads of self esteem, friendship, divorce, mother-daughter relationships with the old west, outlaws, unscrupulous TV sensationalists, and of course, love.
When it comes to middle grade mystery, this one does not disappoint. Highly recommended.

Cynthia Surrisi