Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic

This is the 20th book in the History Mysteries series and takes place in 1925. Emily, a young girl living in Philadelphia, gets an up-close-and-personal experience with gangsters harassing a store owner. Her own life seems to be in jeopardy and she and her older sister, Dorothy, go for a vacation at a hotel on the Jersey shore.

The problem arises when it seems that the main gangster, “Mr. M”, is also staying at the hotel. Emily and her friend, Gwen (who suffers from polio), try to find out as much as they can, at first not being sure that the person Emily keeps seeing really is the gangster, then finding out about a plot to smuggle liquor into the area (alcohol was prohibited at the time.) Emily's own sister could become a victim of the gangster and a friend of hers actually is working, albeit reluctantly, with Mr. M.

Emily and Gwen come up with a brilliant plant to thwart the gangster and at the same time protect Dorothy and keep Dorothy's male friend from getting mixed up with the gangster.

It's a good book, dealing with something not often dealt with in other young adult books or even American Girl novels, and that's the subject of gangsters. The twenties could be a very, very dangerous time for those in areas where gangsters worked since innocent bystanders could become victims of gangster activity with no warning. A historical section gives some background on the gangsters along with information about how the lives of women were changing in the twenties.

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