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The Pear Affair

Book Synopsis

The highly anticipated second novel from the author of acclaimed The Secret Starling – a spectacular adventure set through and under the streets of Paris.

When Penelope Magnificent’s awful parents tell her they’re taking a trip to Paris, she surprises them by begging to go along.

Nell is usually content to avoid her money-obsessed father and her fashion-focussed mother, but Paris holds something very dear to her . . . her old au pair Perrine – Pear – lives there. Pear used to write to Nell every week promising to come to her rescue but recently the letters have stopped . . .

Arriving at her parent’s posh hotel, Nell is determined to find Pear . . . but no one has seen her at her last known address, and no one seems to want to tell her anything about Pear’s whereabouts.

Luckily she befriends the hotel bellboy who introduces her to the world of tunnels underneath the city, and together they set out to find Pear, whilst uncovering an extraordinary mystery of their own . . .

Gorgeous black and white illustrations by Kim Geyer bring this story to life.

Our Review Panel says...

With The Pear Affair comes a detective story set in the sixties, complete with a search for a missing person, hidden tunnels, and a plot to ruin lives for the gain of a few. All of this is unimaginable at first, when the main character, Nell, senses the opportunity to find a much-loved nanny, named Pear, who disappeared to France when Nell was seven, and whose letters to her had mysteriously stopped. Her parents, who are rich but also very neglectful, announce that they are all off to Paris to do business; this is the moment that Nell knows she can try and find the only person that really loved her…

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