Title: The secret of the golden cowrie
First published: 1988
Description: Connie Lawrence has to make a sudden trip to the coast of New Jersey to visit an aunt she doesn't know. Although she enjoys exploring the salt marsh, she soon finds herself involved with a mysterious prowler and a missing cowrie shell. She decides to find her uncle's valuable shell in order to help her aunt pay off a debt and immediately runs into difficulties unraveling her uncle's secret code. As everything seems to go wrong, Connie learns from Aunt Laura and her new photographer friend, Stella, that the Lord does answer prayer -- in his own time and in his way. The thief is finally caught, the shell is recovered, and Connie comes to a deeper understanding of God. - Publisher.

Connie Lawrence loves secrets, and when Aunt Laura shares one with her, it leads them both to a puzzle connected with a beautiful golden cowrie shell. Connie plunges eagerly into the mystery. Figuring it out will be fun, and besides, it will give her a chance to prove herself to her big brother, Dan. But who is the prowler that knows so much about Aunt Laura's house? What secrets does the strange little set of diaries hold? And what should she do about the letter that she found in the desk? When time begins to run out for Aunt Laura, however, it is to Dan that Connie must turn. As they work together on the deepening mystery, she comes to a better understanding of God and learns something about her own self as well. - Back cover.
Subjects: Juvenile literature, Birds, Cowries, Juvenile fiction, Salt marshes, Aunts
LC classification: MLCS 92/21607 (P)