A review by crabbyabbe
The Secret at Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene, Russell H. Tandy, Mildred Benson

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Maybe because I'm a native Phoenician, I liked this one the least so far. Too many stereotypical devices to count. We don't say “hombre“ or “sandstorm“ (it's a dust storm or haboob)--nor do we say “squaw“, which crudely refers to female genitalia. Dude ranches existed primarily around Wickenburg (The Dude Capital of the West in the 1950s), which is an hour NW of Phoenix. It was hard for me to take this story seriously.