A review by crowyhead
Lost Time by Susan Maupin Schmid

3.0

This is a mostly-forgettable science fiction mystery. Twelve-year-old Violynne Vivant and her parents live on the planet Lindos, where her parent work at archaeologists studying Lindos's vanished ancient peoples. When both her parents disappear during a dig at the ancient city of Ninthon, Violynne is convinced there's more going on than anyone's telling her, particularly when thieves break into her home. Suddenly no one and nothing are what they seem, and Violynne is swept up into warring adult factions, political intrigue, and new mysteries surrounding Lindos's dark moon.

This was entertaining enough while I was reading it, but as I said, it was ultimately pretty forgettable. Violynne is not particularly well fleshed out as a believable twelve-year-old, and the book is by and large powered by its plot. This is fine, but the plot's pretty thin at points, and the conclusion isn't as satisfying as one might hope. I don't know if Schmid plans a sequel; the book is certainly left open for it, but it also stands on its own fine. This will appeal to middle readers who are fans of genre fiction, but I doubt it will become a classic.