Did Alpheus Winterborn, the eccentric town millionaire really hide a treasure in the Hoosac Public Library before he died? Or was he just playing another of his famous practical jokes?

Almost no supernatural elements, and a small town midwestern setting. Signature Bellairs, but at least the plot makes sense. Did it give Spielberg the idea for his "Raiders of the Lost Ark"? ( )

Anthony Monday would hear his parents argue about money at night. Mrs. Monday worried they didn't have enough even though Mr. Monday's Cigar Store and Saloon brought a steady income. Anthony wanted to help some way, but he was too young to really have a job.

On his way home from school one day, he stopped at the Hoosac Public Library to talk to Miss Eells. He had developed a friendship with her and felt that she really listened to him and understood him. He told her about his parents arguing again and she offered him a part-time job helping at the library. Perfect!

Hoosac Public Library was in an old building built in the early 1900s by eccentric Alpheus Winterborn, who made his money with his company Winterborn Silverware Company. The company made silver-plated items and items in other metals. The income allowed Mr. Winterborn the freedom to dabble in inventing things, collecting things, and archaeology. There was a rumour that Mr. Winterborn had hidden a treasure in the old library, but no one knew if it was true or not.

While Anthony was working there he made a discovery of a gold coin and some slips of paper with a strange verse on them. This started out his search for the treasure, whether it was true or not. Finding it would make things easier for his family and they wouldn't argue about money anymore!

Strange puzzling clues and dealing with a Mr. Hugo Philpotts, who is a nephew of Mr. Winterborn, Anthony has a real mystery on his hands. A mystery that takes some scary and possibly deadly turns!

I enjoy works by John Bellairs. He sets his characters and scenes and then the adventures begin. There is action and puzzles in his work. Some parts really do make you sit on the edge of your seat. ( )

A kids' book from 1978 about a 13-year-old boy who finds a clue to a treasure hunt hidden in his local library. It's funny: I hadn't realized this when I acquired the book, but I definitely read this when I was a kid. I remembered almost none of the details, but one particular plot element was immediately and utterly familiar as soon as I started. It's always kind of a weird sensation when that happens.

Unfortunately, unlike the other two Bellairs books I read recently, this one didn't really have that much appeal to me as an adult reader. There's way too much exposition, in that simplistic kidlit kind of style; the villain's a little too cartoony; the major plot clue that the main character overlooks for most of the novel seemed far too obvious to sophisticated-adult me; and it lacks the pleasant creepiness of The House With a Clock in Its Walls and The Curse of the Blue Figurine. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad kids' book, though. Clearly it made some kind of impression on me as a young reader, if I'm able to remember anything at all about it decades later. Although it does feel pretty dated now, so modern kids might or might not agree. ( )

Young Anthony Monday discovers a mystery the summer he works at the library. With the help of the librarian, Miss Eels, he discovers the secret. ( )