
Marsh Road Mysteries-3: - Spooks and Scooters. ( Ages11+)
By : Elen Caldecott
Publisher : Bloomsbury ( Feb.,2016)
The third book in the exciting Marsh Road Mysteries series. Where Flora, Sylvie,Minnie, Andrew and Piotr turns into better detectives than the detectives themselves.
Sylvie and Flora the twins, live with their mother and are looking forward to spend their holiday with their father when they are informed that it is cancelled. The dismayed girls later learn that the blueprints of their father`s latest invention, of a very special scooter, were stolen.
Their father is devastated. And he`s under the risk of losing his job. It`s certain that it is now in the hands of Drillax.; the kids were clever enough to figure it out. But how did it go there?
The two brave girls with their friends, Andrew, Piotr and Minnie sets off to work immediately. There are many suspects; from the business partners to the girls' father`s girl friend. And there`s Wendell the detective to hold them up. They don`t have much time left, only until the next special board meeting of the company; where the other partners might vote off Sylvie and Flora`s father if they wont solve the mystery behind the lost blueprints. By following clues, moving ahead and sometimes taking wrong turns but, being sharp ,determined and experienced, they are bound to be winners.
The book also subtly addresses complicated family relationships and accepting a new person into a tight circle between a parent & children. And the story is written in simple language with very realistically defined characters. The settings, office atmospheres and chaotic episodes are cleverly expressed through phrases simple but helpful in creating the imagery and suspense. Although this is the third book in a series, the story stands alone and one can easily pick up how the relationships work through the information provided. It`s fast paced, gripping and suspenseful to the last page.
(With many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishers and Net Galley for the ARC copy in return for a honest review).