Tom Polakiewicz

The Treasure of the Santa Susana Tom Polakiewicz

Ghosts! Cattle rustlers! Buried treasure! All are part of the puzzle that awaits Stanford botany professor Aldous Barkly and his loyal assistant Osgood Trotter as they begin their next adventure. Thinking that he has been sent on an ordinary botanical survey, Barkly is thrust into a clash between the owner of El Rancho Perdido on the Central California coast and the mysterious figures that lay claim to the land. The Treasure of the Santa Susana mixes historical fact and exciting action, with a twist. Barkly and Trotter live in a world where dogs, properly known as canines, coexist on an almost equal footing with humans. Their special abilities and the difficulties they find in human society bring to life California history and the wonder of the natural world in a story that middle grade readers and their parents will learn from and enjoy.