Jake, Scout and the Lost Treasure Map

Jake and Scout are back for case number ten, and this time the mystery is buried treasure - twice over! While tidying their treehouse office, Jake finds an old hand-drawn map in the bottom drawer of his desk - a dotted line winding through town, ending in a big red X under the big oak tree in the park.

Jake shares the map with his friends, but the next morning it is gone. A red thread on the ladder and a muddy boot print too big for a boy his age tell Jake someone bigger climbed up in the night. With careful deduction and a quiet stakeout, Jake learns who took it - and he wins it back the clever way, with a fake map, a dawn swap, and one perfectly timed distraction from Scout.

Then the real hunt begins. Following the line one stop at a time, Jake and Scout find a painted stone at the schoolyard fence, a tiny wooden boat on the stone bridge, and a gold star coin in the town square fountain. With Scout's nose leading the way, they dig under the big oak and open a wooden chest left by an old detective long ago - and learn that the best treasure is the hunt, and the friends who hunt with you.

A warm, funny detective story about sharing, saying sorry, following every clue, and the friends you make along the way