Debut author Jo Clarke makes a triumphant entry to the lower middle-grade market with the start of a new detective adventure series about a travelling school, which will be illustrated by Becka Moor. The series promises adventures in different cities around the globe, and this first one is set in Paris.

The dreamy scenes of the Parisian skyline provide a backdrop for a detective adventure in which macarons are never far from the thoughts of the main characters. If you’ve never had the chance to fall in love with the sights, sounds and tastes of Paris, you will be charmed by the city’s delights after reading this story.

Just the right amount of peril for a younger audience combined with a fun boarding school element and enough clues to keep the predictions rolling makes for a perfect stepping stone into the detective fiction genre for the younger end of the middle-grade market.

The author’s expertise as a librarian and book blogger shines through in hitting just the right spot for the intended age of the book’s audience. With themes of friendship and loyalty, a positive tone and a good sprinkling of fun, the story is likely to be a big hit with lower KS2.

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.

How many of us remember the choose-your-own-adventure stories popular a few decades ago and find ourselves wondering why we rarely see new ones published today? Popular author Gareth P. Jones reintroduces the genre with ‘The Monster Maker’ – an imaginative detective story for readers looking for an interactive adventure, with hundreds of paths to choose from.

Haventry is a town where ghosts, zombie clowns, werewolves and vampires (amongst others) reside happily. That is, until Dr Franklefink’s Monster Maker machine is stolen and everyone becomes a suspect. It is then up to you to investigate and solve the mystery. Your detective partner and boss is none other than private investigator Klaus Solstaag, a yeti who is on a mission. Will you find the truth? What motive does your prime suspect have? Can you find the missing Monster Maker?

In this solve your own mystery story, readers will enjoy choosing which aspect of the crime to investigate next and sussing out who the real suspects are. For fans of the extraordinary and of detective mysteries, this is a must-read.

A classic adventure story with plenty of action and daring rescues topped off with a good helping of home-baked scones. Four cousins – Aiden, Ava, Chloe and Josh – are staying with their grandparents along with their pet dog, Bella, at a farmhouse in the country. After nearly getting knocked down by a fast car during a bike ride one day, they discover the woman who narrowly missed them has more to hide than just her bad driving.

After overhearing a suspicious conversation outside a sinister-looking country pub, they decide to follow her and in so doing stumble upon a trail of missing royal diamonds, some stolen sheep and a gang of dangerous, daring jewel thieves. A thrilling chase across the moors ensues, complete with swirling mist, dangerous bogs and even a spot of breaking and entering. Will the cousins be able to track down the missing diamonds?

The Secrets of the Treasure Keepers is a wonderfully immersive story that takes the reader back to what life might have been like for one family at a particular moment in history. The story felt extra special as it is a rare example of fiction set in the Fens, near BooksForTopics HQ. I know that the author’s commitment to highlighting this area of the country will be warmly welcomed by schools both in the local area and also for those readers yet to discover the hauntingly beautiful geography of the Fens.

The story centres around the apparent discovery of some buried Roman treasure in the field of a struggling farming family. Ruth and her mum – a budding archaeology expert – visit the farm to discover more. What drives the story is the unfolding secrets and backstories of the various different main characters – all interesting and well-nuanced – making for an enjoyable mystery full of intrigue and due compassion for the desperation that can drive deceit.

I particularly enjoyed the well-drawn historical setting of post-war Britain. We see a lot of middle-grade stories set during the war, but the period immediately after the war had finished is just as interesting and much less widely considered in children’s books. How does a country get back on its feet after the devastation of the war? No stone is left unturned when it comes to incidental details that flesh out the time and place of the story’s setting. The country is still reeling from the war’s impact and the reader is given space to reflect on the difficulty this caused for different individuals – for example in terms of ongoing rationing, widespread poverty, the ‘make do and mend’ mentally, missing family members, the dawn of the NHS and the deeply-felt consequences of the war’s destruction on property, people and family relationships. A major theme of the story is embracing change and looking at ways to improve the future even during difficult times – a theme that is just as relevant today as it was in 1948. For me, this is the crux of what makes A.M. Howell’s writing so compelling; the stories feel so authentically and evocatively set in their time period while also being timeless in their themes.

Heartfelt and hopeful, this is a historical adventure not to be missed.

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.

The gripping pace of this story makes this a hard story to put down and the many threads and questions form a very satisfying ending that the reader is not expecting. All of this is set against the beautiful backdrop of Paris, complete with its beautiful hotels, shops and landmarks, its smells and colours, and its exciting hidden depths. A very satisfying read.

This story was partially inspired by footballer Marcus Rashford’s own experiences growing up and is written with children’s author Alex Falase-Koya. Marcus remembers the breakfast clubs he attended growing up, and said “Breakfast Club guaranteed I had the best possible start to my day and welcomed me with open arms. It wasn’t just about food. It was about forming friendships, about togetherness, about escape. It was where some of my greatest memories were made.” This fiction book pays homage to the role breakfast club played in his upbringing.

In the story, Marcus attends Breakfast Club along with his football-loving friends. Since he lost his lucky football over the fence, his magic touch is gone and he’s lost his enthusiasm a bit. Everybody knows that he won’t get the football back because the other side of the fence is a no-go zone with a derelict, abandoned building. Before he knows it, Marcus ends up swept up on an adventure with the Breakfast Club Investigators involving a mysterious note, a strange creature and a deep dive into what really lurks beyond the fence.

This fun, pacey adventure full of twists and turns is a big hit with Key Stage 2.