A boy must outsmart a tormenting turkey and solve the mystery surrounding some missing jewelry in this feel-good middle grade novel from the Newbery Award-winning author of the Shiloh series. Zack has a problem. A turkey problem. A TOM turkey to be exact. Every weekend Zack goes to his grandparents’ farm with his father. As soon as he and his dad pull up in the truck, that ol’ Tom turkey’s right there, waiting, ready to peck, peck, peck at Zack’s legs. Now, Zack isn’t usually a scaredy-cat but this is different. The bird is flat out mean, and has clearly got it out for Zack. His best friend Matthew thinks he’s exaggerating, so one weekend Zack brings him along and sure enough the turkey is laying in wait…this time for them both! The boys realize they need something to turn the tables, so they decide to build–in Rube Goldberg style–a giant LOUD contraption to scare the turkey away for good.

What the boys don’t count on is the seemingly know-it-all neighbor Josie’s news that there’s a mysterious robber prowling around the neighborhood. Bracelets, necklaces, and coins have gone missing, and the odd thing is that the robber leaves V-shaped footprints…