Twins Alex and Donna want to make some money so decide to start their own private investigation business. Their first case is a missing dog. Can they reunite Kiki with her owner?
Eye Spy is the first book in a children’s mystery series. I have previously read and reviewed the second book in the series, Haunted.
Ale and Donna are often in trouble and despair about their dad’s eccentricities. In order to make some money, the pair start to investigate a missing dog with a view to exposing a dognapping ring.
The book is written from Alex’s first person perspective and I felt that the childlike voice was authentic. This is a quick read for an adult but is a substantial enough chapter book for 9-12 years olds. The family and school life elements will resonate with children and help them to identify with the lead characters.
The missing dog case actually takes second place to the mystery about the twins’ mum as the plot prgresses. There is emotion as the twins wonder about their mother and this could be a trigger for some readers.
Eye Spy is an enjoyable mystery book for children.
Eye Spy
Over the course of ten days, the lives of thirteen-year-old Alex Macintyre and his twin sister Donna will change forever.
When Alex and Donna set up Eye Spy Investigations and start looking for a valuable missing dog, they soon have an interesting assortment of suspects. There is the mysterious man in the fur hat; a gang of bikers who hang out at the Starship Café; and Crazy Kath, the bag lady, who may know more than she’s letting on.
But as they struggle to make sense of the evidence, the twins begin to uncover an even bigger mystery in their own family. As events spiral out of control, can Alex resolve a family crisis, save Donna from imminent danger, and return the missing dog to its rightful owner?
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Author Bio:
Tessa Buckley was an inveterate scribbler as a child, and spent much of her time writing and illustrating stories. After spending fifteen years working for architects and interior designers. She took up writing again when her young daughter complained that she couldn’t find enough adventure stories to read. This led, in 2014, to the publication of Eye Spy, the first in a series of detective stories for 9-12 year olds, designed to encourage reluctant readers. The second book in the series, Haunted, was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2017. She lives with her husband and a large white cat called Pippa in a town on the Thames estuary, which inspired the seaside setting for the novels. She also writes about family history, which has been her passion for many years.
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A killer is released from prison. A teenager goes missing. Did she run away or has she been abducted? Detective Ellie Reeves fears that this could be linked to an old murder case…
The Sleeping Girls is the 9th book in the Detective Ellie Reeves series. The case works as a stand alone book but there are personal relationship details that continue from earlier books.
Kelsey vanishes after arguing with her secret boyfriend. Her friends worry about her safety, especially after the release of intimate photos of the teenagers. She and her best friends were devastated by the social media trolling as well as dealing with tough problems with their families. Ellie Reeves needs to explore the risks that make the girls vulnerable while also trying desperately to find Kelsey.
The book is written from multiple third person perspectives. We witness Digger as he adjusts to life outside the prison and wonders about the past. Ellie is anxious to find Kelsey before it is too late. A killer plans his next victim, feeding off the thrill of his last attack. Ruby and June miss their friend whilst also dealing with their own home life issues.
The chapters are very short so the plot speeds along at pace. The girls’ unhappy backgrounds are very emotive and I also enjoyed the way the different viewpoints construct the narrative. The tension mounts as the plot develops. There are also personal elements to Ellie’s life as she considers her friendships and relationships. Other characters are also soul-searching about their choices and how these may impact their personal and professional lives.
The Sleeping Girls is a fast paced and engaging detective thriller.
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Book: THE SLEEPING GIRLS
Author: Rita Herron
Pub Day: JAN 22ND 2024
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The young girl looked so innocent, like a sleeping angel. Kelsey lay on a bed of white sheets, golden hair fanned across the pillow, eyes closed, pale lips pressed together. A white teddy bear was tucked under her slender arm… “My baby, she’s dead” her distraught mother choked out.
When the call comes in that fifteen-year-old Kelsey Tiller has gone missing from her bedroom in the middle of the night, Detective Ellie Reeves rushes to talk to her distraught parents. They tell her that Kelsey, a slender blond with green eyes and a timid smile, had plans to go shopping for her homecoming dress the next day, insisting she would have no reason to run away. But when neighbors report seeing Kelsey with a secret boyfriend, Ellie wonders how much Kelsey really told her parents.
Ellie is determined to find Kelsey’s boyfriend and interviews her friends and teachers at school. But just as she is making headway with the case, she receives some devastating news. Kelsey’s parents have received a photo of their daughter lying on a bed with white sheets over her body, skin ghostly pale under the freckles dotting her nose, her precious life snuffed out.
Desperate to find answers for those who loved Kelsey, Ellie studies the picture and realizes that her body has been posed in the same way as a teenage girl murdered ten years earlier. And when she learns Darnell, the killer in that case, has just been released from prison, fear crawls through her. Could Darnell have stolen another innocent life?
But just as Ellie thinks she has cracked the case, Kelsey’s best friend Ruby is snatched from her home, and Darnell has an unbreakable alibi. Haunted by Kelsey’s ashen face, Ellie knows she must race against time to find Ruby alive. And when she discovers one of her team is hiding critical information, she realizes she needs to act alone. But is she dealing with a twisted copycat killer or is the danger far closer to home?
A totally gripping and pulse-pounding crime thriller that will have you holding your breath as you race through the pages! Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh.
Author Bio
USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Rita Herron fell in love with books at the ripe age of eight when she read her first Trixie Belden mystery. But she didn’t think real people grew up to be writers, so she became a teacher instead. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job.
With over ninety books to her credit, she’s penned romantic suspense, romantic comedy, and YA novels, but she especially likes writing dark romantic suspense and crime fiction set in small southern towns.
For more on Rita and her titles, visit her at www.ritaherron.com. You can also find her on Facebook/ritaherron.com and Twitter @ritaherron.
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Anna and Siobhan are cousins but haven’t seen each other for years. Anna is desperate to reconnect and envies Siobhan’s perfect life. But in reality, Siobhan has an enemy stalking her…
Your Perfect Life is a psychological thriller set in London.
Siobhan has a good career but Anna is unemployed. Siobhan seems to have it all and Anna wants to be part of her life, basking in her reflected glory. Yet Siobhan is spooked by the delivery of a dozen black roses and a sinister voice calls in to her radio show. Both characters hint at something from their past and it is not going to stay hidden any longer.
The book is written from the first person perspectives of Siobhan and Anna so we can experience their emotions and understand their actions. A quarter of the way through, there was a major shift in emphasis as we realise Anna’s darker side and this increased the tension as we anticipate what could happen as she grows closer to Siobhan.
I really liked the way the alternating chapters allowed us to get to know the two main characters. It isn’t easy to like either of the women although they felt authentic due to the narrative style. There are lots of clues about the past as well as shocking developments in the present day. I was swept up in the drama as the plot unfolded.
Your Perfect Life is an enjoyable psychological thriller with two strong lead characters.
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Book: Your Perfect Life
Author: Victoria Jenkins
Pub Day: Jan 19th 2024
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About the Book:
‘Your life is perfect.’ Anna says, smiling across my dining table. But something in her tone and the glint in her hazel eyes lets me know the comment is laced with jealousy. I sip my wine and smile. Soon she’ll learn that having this life costs more than she could ever imagine…
Everyone thinks I’m living the perfect life. I have my dream job, a stunning apartment, and glamourous friends – who know nothing about my dark past. So I’m shocked when I run into Anna, who I haven’t seen in eighteen years. Everything about her reminds me of the life I’ve left behind. But as her eyes fill with tears and she tells me she’s lost her job and can’t pay her rent, I reluctantly offer her my spare room.
Anna promises she won’t stay for long. But soon, I notice she’s wearing my designer clothes and has dyed her hair to match my exact shade of chocolate brown. As I watch her curled up on my sofa, my blood runs cold. Did Anna really come back into my life by chance? What is she hiding?
Then I receive a chilling anonymous phone call telling me my time is up. Memories of that terrible night that changed everything come flooding back. The flames. The thick smoke. Someone knows what I did, and they want revenge.
But whoever that someone is, they’ve underestimated how far I’ll go to protect my perfect life…
Author Bio and Social Media
Victoria Jenkins lives with her husband and daughters in South Wales, where her bestselling series of crime novels featuring Detectives King and Lane is based. The first in the series, The Girls in the Water is a top 5 US kindle bestseller. She has an MA in Creative and Media Writing from the University of Wales, Swansea.
Since the King and Lane series, she has written eight standalone psychological thrillers.
The Cotillard sisters, Gaby, Martine and Simone, are trying to stay under the radar of the Nazis and survive the war. Gaby was a pianist and gave up her chance at romance to complete her musical work. Now she is hunted by a German officer to teach his stepdaughter how to play the piano, meanwhile she is also sending messages to England via pigeon…
The Secret Pianist is an historical novel set in France and England during WW2.
Having read several WW2 books recently, I did feel a little fatigued when I started this book. However, this was soon blown out of the water. I was quickly swept up in the village life as the sisters try to resist the Germans while also avoid detection. Neighbours spy on each other, ready to denounce for collaboration as well as resistance. The sisters are caught in the middle!
The book is written in the first person perspective of Gaby and the third person of Guy in London. Gaby doesn’t know who to trust except her sisters but their actions have dangerous consequences. Guy is thrilled that his pigeon drop has been successful but is haunted by the sheet music it is written on. I kept my fingers crossed that the two main characters would meet up and have a happy ending together (no spoilers if they do or not!)
I thought the historical elements of the book were really well researched. The French community is divided between ‘good’ and ‘bad’, those staying true to their country and those interacting with the enemy. However, this is not at all straightforward and the judgement of others often falls far from the truth. Gaby is compelled to give lessons, accept a German officer as a neighbour, take German business; all of which mark her out as a collaborator but she has no choice and is trying to protect others.
The Secret Pianist is an emotional and engaging historical novel about the triumph of hope in the face of adversity.
The Secret Pianist
Sisters. Traitors. Spies.
When a British RAF Whitley plane comes under fire over the French coast and is forced to drop their cargo, a spy messenger pigeon finds its way into unlikely hands…
The occupation has taken much from the Cotillard sisters, and as the Germans increase their forces in the seaside town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Gabriella, Martine and Simone can’t escape the feeling that the walls are closing in.
Yet, just as they should be trying to stay under the radar, Martine’s discovery of a British messenger pigeon leads them down a new and dangerous path. Gaby would do anything to protect her sisters but when the pianist is forced to teach the step-daughter of a German Commandant, and the town accuses the Cotillards of becoming ‘Bad French’ and in allegiance with the enemy, she realizes they have to take the opportunity to fight back that has been handed to them.
Now, as the sisters’ secrets wing their way to an unknown contact in London, Gaby, Martine and Simone have to wonder – have they opened a lifeline, or sealed their fate?
Readers can’t get enough of USA Today bestselling author Andie Newton:
‘A brilliant tale of resistance, sisterhood and dangerous secrets. Andie Newton is a master storyteller!’ Sara Ackerman, USA Today bestselling author of The Codebreaker’s Secret
‘If you believe every WW2 story has already been told, think again. This one is special.’ Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain
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Author Bio –
Author Bio: Andie Newton is the USA Today bestselling author of A Child for the Reich, The Girls from the Beach, The Girl from Vichy, and The Girl I Left Behind. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her family. When she’s not writing gritty war stories about women, you can usually find her trail-running in the desert and stopping to pet every Yellow Lab or Golden Retriever that crosses her path. Andie is actively involved with the reading and writing community on social media. You can follow her on X (Twitter) @andienewton and Instagram, or check out her author page on Facebook.
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Whilst reading The Girl From Provence this week, I was intrigued by the inclusion of a real life character, the pilot and author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. In this, his children’s book, The Little Prince, is used by the resistance to code messages so I thought I would find and read the original 1940s book.
The Little Prince plot centres around a pilot who crashes into the desert (an incident that really happened to Antoine). The pilot meets an alien who tells him stories about his journey to Earth.
The book is written from the pilot’s first person perspective as he recounts his encounter with the alien and the stories he is told. The tone and style surprised me due to the humour, insight and modern personal narration that I felt was unusual from a book written in 1943.
There are some very powerful messages in the book. I was particularly struck by the narrator’s description of how his childhood art was dismissed as unworthy by adults which resulted in him losing faith in himself. The Little Prince has an innocence about him that is not tainted by the negative elements of adulthood as he ventures to other planets inhabited by drunks, greedy businessmen etc.
The Little Prince is a children’s book but the themes are more suited to age 12+ in my opinion. I enjoyed the audio version and the foreword by the translator, but I wish I had seen the illustrations in a physical copy.
