The Hidden Path is the third volume in Andersen's popular "Book of Mormon Sleuth" series. It continues the adventures of the Andrews family, in particular their bright and courageous children. The series is aimed toward the younger generation.

The first entry in the series introduced us to the Andrews clan, a Latter-day Saint family strong in faith and devotion to the Church. The plot involved a Dr. Anthony, an evil man out to steal a rare edition of the Book of Mormon owned by an aunt of the Andrews children. He is ultimately apprehended and imprisoned. The story was well written and cleverly crafted.

The second book takes an entirely different course. The family is awarded a free Alaskan cruise, but things go horribly bad, and they end up in a strange land when their airplane crash-lands in a remote region where they meet up with a "lost tribe," befriending many of them and leaving copies of the Book of Mormon with their leaders. Their airplane, piloted by a man named John, spills fuel onto a salt flat. Salt is central to the life and primitive worship of these people; the loss of the salt gives rise to anger and resentment.

The third volume follows from the second. A year has passed since their adventure described in the second book. The company that awarded the first trip has given them another opportunity to enjoy a vacation aboard an Alaskan cruise ship. On the eve of the journey, several of the children wander to the pier to take a look at the ship, and meet up with John, the pilot from their previous adventure. He explains that a team had volunteered to bring supplies of salt to the "lost people," after having inadvertently ruined their salt supply in their last visit. The children, curious to learn about this effort, board the vessel.

But things go horribly wrong. One of the men involved in this "salt-delivery" mission is none other than Dr. Anthony, the villain of the first volume, who was released from prison due to a technicality.. The children run and hide, not wanting to be spotted by the evil man, and as a result find themselves trapped on a luxury yacht. Before they know it, they're on their way back to the land of their previous adventure, leaving behind their hapless and worried parents.

If it all seems a bit contrived, one need only think back to the old Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew stories. Read from a child's point of view, they were exciting and entertaining. Contrived plots never seemed to bother us when we were children. And, to be honest, they don't bother many adults these days, either. When one is reading fiction, one is helped by suspending rational powers, leaving the reader to just enjoy the story.

And when it comes to exciting stories for young people, this book is the real deal. I was somewhat critical of the second book, feeling that it lacked some of the coherence and imagination of the first book. Happily, Andersen is back on track, telling a story that stays on track, knows where it's going, and draws the reader into the intrigue. His characters are more fully fleshed out, the story line more consistent.

As the story progresses, Andersen takes the time show draw from the Scriptures, showing how their teachings are pivotal in the childrens' survival. And one cannot but be impressed with how the "lost tribe," under the tutelage of the Book of Mormon, developed a system of ethics and Christian values that would be welcome in any setting.

Drawing on two previous volumes, it would have been easy for Andersen to leave the new reader behind. But he is careful to re-tell those parts of the previous stories that are relevant to the current story line. This was very helpful.

I do have two comments. First, in a narrative beginning on page 69, there is a touch-and-go, and not entirely accurate, discussion of Roman Catholicism. It goes on for several pages, and when you're done, you believe the following: the Catholics don't think that Mormons are Christian. But how can this be, since we both believe in the New Testament? Yeah, but the Catholics add a lot of stuff that's not scriptural. But we add stuff, too. Yeah, but we add it by inspiration. Leaving aside the simplistic nature of this dialogue, I couldn't figure how it fit into the storyline at all. It seemed a bit gratuitous, and would have been happier had it been omitted altogether.

And second, a minor quibble, whenever the men in the "lost tribe" refer to the Book of Mormon, they call it "The Book Of Mormon -- Another Testament of Jesus Christ." Inasmuch as the Andrews children rarely called it by this name, but rather simply "The Book of Mormon," I wondered why they didn't simply adapt to the childrens' preference. Instead, there is a constant repetition of the entire phrase. I wasn't at all clear why this was necessary.

The Hidden Path, like the previous volumes, is aimed toward families with young children. Andersen teaches principles involving the importance of family rituals and trust, the centrality of Scripture study and prayer in the life of the Latter-day Saint, and the value of faith in Christ, even when things look very bleak.

My minor quibbles aside, this is a wonderful book. Older children will revel in the adventures; parents will appreciate the underlying messages of love and trust. I gladly recommend this latest entry in the "Book of Mormon Sleuth" series, and look forward to the next volume. Who knows? Perhaps Dr. Anthony will appear yet again!

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Jeff Needle
October 12, 2003