A Victorian murder mystery that has plenty of twists and turns and is difficult to put down.

All Violet Veil has ever wanted is to be taken seriously and to become an apprentice in her family’s business, Veil and Sons’ Undertakers. Unfortunately, she is denied this opportunity simply because she is a girl. When there is a spate of killings, business appears to be good for Mr Veil. That is, until one rainy night when one of the dead bodies comes back to life! In the undertaker’s back room, Violet meets Oliver, a young boy who lives on the streets, and together they embark on an investigation to solve Oliver’s own ‘murder’. They are accompanied by Violet’s loyal greyhound, Bones, who has an affinity for the graveyard that lies next to the Veil’s house and business. In spite of her parents’ disapproval, plucky Violet vows to solve this mystery and Oliver is allowed to stay. When Violet’s father is later accused of these murders, Violet, Oliver and Bones must uncover the truth once and for all in a bid to save Mr Veil’s life.

This book has a strong female lead with a loveable sidekick. Violet’s headstrong nature and sense that justice must be done make her a character that you can’t help but root for. The story takes its readers along on the journey of the investigation and is nail-biting in places.

A must-read for lovers of detective stories, ghostly tales and historical fiction. There is a sense of dark adventure and foreboding throughout and this makes the spooky nature of the story very appealing. 

Here’s one for the booklovers! Pages & Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers is a middle-grade adventure where classic children’s characters wander from the pages of their books out into a bookshop, where they lead 11-year-old Tilly back into their fictional worlds.

Tilly lives with her grandparents in their bookshop, ‘Pages & Co’. Tilly’s mum mysteriously disappeared when she was very small and she knows very little about her dad. Often lonely, Tilly finds solace among the pages of the wonderful books in the bookshop. One day, things take a thrilling turn when Anne of Green Gables appears in the shop, soon after followed by Alice in Wonderland. Tilly’s world is turned upside down when she realises that not only can characters from the books leave their stories and come into her world, but she can wander right into theirs too. Tilly is a bookwanderer!

Along with her best friend Oskar, Tilly embarks upon a bookwandering adventure beyond her wildest imagination. But among the sheer joy of visiting fictional worlds, questions begin to emerge about bookwandering. Is there a network of other bookwanderers like her? Why is the mysterious Enoch Chalk always loitering nearby? Can bookwandering help Tilly solve the mystery of what really happened to her mother all those years ago? Do her grandparents know more than they have let on about the world of bookwandering?

This is a clever story with a high appeal to booklovers. Readers with prior knowledge of the classic book characters will get the most out of this book, but this is by no means a prerequisite for enjoying the story with its convincing characterisation, creative world-building and enjoyable plot twists and turns.  A delightful story set to charm readers young and old.

A full-steam-ahead adventure that had me hooked from the get-go. The Highland Falcon Thief is a middle-grade mystery story set on a steam train. With a high spirit of adventuring and a good-and-proper mystery that unfolds with clues and red herrings along the course, this is a brilliantly fun story that is sure to be on track to find itself set among the very best in the children’s mystery genre.

Harrison Beck (Hal) ends up aboard the last-ever journey of a famous royal steam train ‘The Highland Falcon’, unwillingly accompanying his travel-writer uncle while his parents are occupied in hospital having a new baby. Hal doesn’t think much of steam trains – and he is even less impressed when he finds there are no other child passengers on board and no electricity to charge his devices. Before long, Hal finds himself caught up with entertainment of a more old-fashioned kind. A mystery begins to unravel among the passengers – with valuable items disappearing including the princess’s diamond necklace – and Hal begins to record what he notices in his sketchbook. What’s more, Hal befriends a secret stowaway girl called Lenny and the pair set to work to solve the mystery before The Highland Falcon reaches the end of its last-ever journey.

It’s a full-throttle mystery with likeable characters and a well-paced plot that is especially full of treasures for anyone who loves trains. Even those who are not particularly into trains – like myself – will enjoy the feeling of being immersed in the world of locomotions, and the joy of being on board one came across with such a passion that I think I may have gained a new-found appreciation!

Highly recommended.

Skilfully weaving together two truly charismatic and memorable protagonists with a realistic, relatable modern setting and a plot full of masterly twists and turns, Lori and Max is a brilliant pacy children’s detective story.

Immediately drawing us in with the prologue, we swiftly discover that some school charity money has been stolen and newgirl Max, the prime suspect, has gone missing. But Lori knows more than she can tell and doesn’t believe her new friend is really to blame. From here on in, chapters alternate between the two girls as we slowly unravel the events before and after Max’s disappearance, before winding our way to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion.

Lori is a budding amateur sleuth and all-round goodie-two-shoes. As well as being an orphan and a bit of a loner, she has a loving nan and stable middle-class home life. Lori’s chapters are written in the first person present tense which gives an immediacy to her thoughts as mental cogs turn and we decode the clues along with her. Max is the new girl at school, who’s hard secretive carapace hides a difficult home life – no food on the table thanks to a gambling addict father, and no emotional support from her depressed and distant mum. Max’s chapters are written in the second person which gives us more distance to wonder what’s actually going on inside her head.

We love so much about this book, in particular the skilful way the disparity between the girls’ home lives and personalities is handled, and the realistic (and hilarious) portrayal of school life, where every day is a stream of Wow Words, confusing assemblies and trying not to stand out from the crowd.

The fast-moving plot and short 182-page length makes it perfect for those with quicker read, rapidly building suspense while never sacrificing character and deeper themes.

Agatha was born a detective and now, finally, the big break she’s been waiting for seems to finally be hers!

The city of London needs saving from the rancid red algae that has taken over the city’s water supply, causing mayhem. Agatha must use all of her sleuthing novels to solve her biggest case yet, and with the help of her best friend (a professor who is not all she seems) and an ally in the unlikely form of one of the most popular girls at school, she must track down the person behind all of the chaos.