Eddy Thompson is a cheater, a chronic cheater who admires the shady dealings of John Dillenger, infamous bank robber. However, Eddy is fortunate enough to have another pal, Chet, who always does his best to follow the rules. In fact, he's what some would call a "goody two-shoes"! Yet Eddy is strangely influenced by this boy who is so different from everything entering or flowing forth from Eddy's scheming brain. Chet also influences his best friend, Rusty Arnold, a boy who is best at complaining and worrying. None of this seems to phase Chet very much except an occasional concerned remark about what will become of Eddy by the time he becomes an adult.

Eddy and his father invite Chet and Rusty, as well as their fathers, on a Christmas trip to a cabin on Wolf Lake in Michigan.

So begins a fun-filled and danger-fraught weekend in which we get to know what each boy really cherishes. Frigid temperatures, scary stories, building an ice fortress, ice fishing, and super-delicious meals cooked by Eddy's father fill the pages of this fast-paced story. However, the real danger is about to begin with the intrusion of two criminals on the run and the money they throw onto Eddy's father's property. The boys discover the money and must decide what to do with it and later must deal with the criminals' return to claim the abandoned riches.

Eddie is transformed by these dangers in a very realistic, fascinating way and the reader is anxious to discover what happens in the face of such frightening danger. Is anyone hopelessly bound by habitual behavior and thinking? Discover for yourself. This is one of several adventures written by a creative writer who knows how to totally capture a reader's interest and keep it to the very end of the tale!

Superb, Max Elliot Anderson!