Trapped in Death Cave

Oklahoma native Bill Wallace began his storytelling career by engaging his students as an elementary school teacher. He became a popular juvenile fiction author, writing 38 total novels before he died in 2012. Many of his novels, like A Dog Called Kitty, Red Dog, and Coyote Autumn, are still in print today and have permanent homes in school libraries. I can fondly remember seeing his boy's adventure paperbacks like Danger on Panther Creek and Blackwater Swamp at the school book fairs when I was a kid. The one that really grabbed my attention was his 1984 Archway Paperback (Pocket Books), Trapped in Death Cave. Martin Hoffman's vivid cover connected with me, probably because of Raiders of the Lost Ark, released three years before this book's release. Regardless, I don't remember ever reading the book, but it's never too late. I grabbed a copy and settled into 164 pages of juvenile adventure. 

Brian's family travels to rural Oklahoma every year for Easter break. This is a long weekend that allows Brian to hang out with his best friend Seth, a local kid who lives near the family's tiny cabin. This year, Seth is mourning the death of his grandfather. However, Seth reveals to Brian that he believes his grandfather was murdered. Seth explains that there are rumors of hidden gold in the nearby mountain range and that his grandfather was obsessed in locating it. After he discovered it, as evidenced on some maps left behind for Seth, he was murdered by someone hoping to cash in on the discovery. 

Like any good treasure hunt, Trapped in Death Cave provides a stereotypical legend of Native Americans possessing magic. In their wars with the U.S. Army and white men devouring their homes, the natives were able to trap people in a “death cave” as a type of sacred curse. The original gold handlers were supposedly trapped/killed in this cave with the loot they stole. It's all mostly juvenile nonsense, but it makes for a fun story.

As Brian and Seth prepare to search the mountains for the gold and to locate the murderer, Seth is captured by a man. Brian, with the help of a local widowed woman (rumored to be a witch), heads to the mountains to save Seth and solve the mystery.

As a middle-grade boys' adventure, Trapped in Death Cave is a lot of fun and quickly breezes by within an hour. I enjoyed the three main characters, the brief escapism, and the book's alluring cover brought to life on page 105. However, the finale was a bit ridiculous with cavernous plot holes too large to overlook. But, considering the age and market, these types of illogical perplexities are to be expected. 

Trapped in Death Cave is a nostalgic, rip-roaring adventure sure to please readers of any age. Get your copy HERE.