Outlaw
Book 6 of the Mogi Franklin Mysteries

Picture
Donald Willerton

Paperback:
Perfect bound, 154 pages , 5.5" x 8.5" 
ISBN 978-1-938288-42-5
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Ebook coming soon


About the Mogi Franklin Mysteries

Mogi Franklin is a typical eighth-grader–except for the mysterious things that keep happening in his life. And the adventures they lead to as he and his sister, Jennifer, follow Mogi's unique problem-solving skills–along with dangerous clues from history and the world around them–to unearth a treasure of unexpected secrets.

Outlaw is the sixth novel in the nine-book Mogi Franklin series of Southwest-based mysteries for middle-grade boys and girls.

Also available:
Ghosts of the San Juan, book 1
The Lost Children, book 2
The Secret of La Rosa, book 3
The Hidden River, book 4
The Lake of Fire, book 5
The Lady in White, book 7
The Captain's Chest, book 8
​River of Gold, book 9
About the Book

In Outlaw, vacationing Mogi and Jennifer are taking scuba lessons at Lake Powell, Utah, unaware that two hundred feet below them is the route used by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to escape pursuers after the biggest train robbery of their career.

Meeting a history professor trying to answer questions about Butch and Sundance suddenly draws the two youngsters into involvement in an insane terrorist's incredible plan to blow up the dam holding back Lake Powell–and devastate most of the Southwest. It's not long before Mogi finds himself in the terrible situation of having to choose between preventing the dam's destruction and saving his own life.

Preview

"There! Over there!"

Jennifer jumped to Mogi's side as she followed his pointing finger.

Barely peeking out from behind a canyon wall, the professor's houseboat had drifted exactly right to reflect the early morning sun.

It had been a long night. The teens had made it to the Wahweap Marina, filled up their gas tank, and then hurried to the park headquarters, but the office was closed. The main dispatch office for the park rangers was located in Page, a few miles away, so the office wasn't staffed during the night. 

After searching the marina for any other kind of official, they wrote another note. They explained who they were and what was happening, described their boat and the professor's houseboat, and slid the note under the door of the office.

They bought snacks and drinks from the machines outside the bait shop and then laid out cushions in the boat for their beds. Quickly learning that the idea of being rocked to sleep by gentle waves was an outright lie, they struggled through a miserable night.

After accepting that they would not sleep, they left the marina after sunrise. An hour later, they discovered the houseboat's hiding place.

"Now what do we do?" Jennifer asked, as Mogi turned the boat and passed by the entrance to the alcove.

"We can't be seen, first of all," Mogi replied. "If the professor is on the houseboat, we need to get him off. But we need to know if the bad guy is on the houseboat before we try anything. I'll swim over to see if the sub is there. If it's not, I'll get inside and see if the professor is still there. If he's there, we'll get him into our boat and find out if the guy has already planted the explosives."

"What if the sub is there?"

Mogi thought for a moment. "I don't think the sub can carry all the explosives in one trip. The guy will have to make several trips, and the smart thing would be to move the houseboat closer to the dam to make each trip as short as possible. So if we can't get the professor now, we can get him after the houseboat is moved and the sub has left."

Mogi sorted out the scuba gear from under the back seat and had his tank and its harness on in a few minutes.

Jennifer grabbed her brother's arm and looked into his eyes. "If you see something stupid to do, don't do it, all right?"

He smiled. "You betcha. I promise. Safety first."

Jennifer made sure he had his emergency inflation vest on, and then helped him fall back over the side of the boat.

About the Author

Donald Willerton was raised in a small oil boomtown in the Panhandle of Texas, becoming familiar through family vacations with the northern New Mexico area where he now makes his home.

After earning a degree in physics from Midwestern State University in Texas and a master’s in computer science and electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico, he worked for Los Alamos National Laboratory for almost three decades. 

During his career there, Willerton was a supercomputer programmer for a number of years and a manager after that for “way too long,” and also worked on information policy and cyber-security.

He finds focusing on only one thing very difficult among such varied interests as home building, climbing Colorado’s tallest peaks, and rafting the rivers of the Southwest (including the Colorado through Grand Canyon). Willerton also has owned a handyman business for a number of years, rebuilt old cars, and made furniture in his woodshop.

He is a wanderer in both mind and body, fascinated with history and its landscape, varied peoples and their cultures, good mysteries, secrets, and seeking out treasure. Most of all, he loves the outdoors and the places he finds in the Southwest where spirits live and ghosts dance. Weaving it all together to share with readers has been the driving force of Willerton’s writing over the past twenty years.
About The Mogi Franklin Mysteries

Mogi Franklin is a typical eighth-grader–except for the mysterious things that keep happening in his life. And the adventures they lead to as he and his sister, Jennifer, follow Mogi's unique problem-solving skills–along with dangerous clues from history and the world around them–to unearth a treasure of unexpected secrets.

Outlaw is the sixth novel in the nine-book Mogi Franklin series of Southwest-based mysteries for middle-grade boys and girls.

Also available:

Ghosts of the
San Juan

The Lost Children

The Secret of La Rosa

The Hidden River

The Lake of Fire

The Lady in White