Me, on a sun lounger in Gran Caneria. Yes I am sat in the shade drinking tea. Can’t help being English now can I?
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd has been recommended to me by so many people, but it was Robin Stevens who made be buy it, because she wrote a sequel called The Guggenheim Mystery which I am eager to read, but of course I can’t read it until I’ve read the original mystery.
This book has been sat on my TBR (To Be Read) pile for over a year, so it went straight into my suitcase when I nipped off for a half-term holiday with the family.
Everything I have been told about this book is true. I consumed it in a gulp. It is brilliantly written and a fabulous mystery. The central characters of brother and sister, Ted and Kat, are complicated, fascinating and relatable. The set out to solve the mysterious disappearance of their cousin Salim, who got on the London Eye, but never got off.
Ted’s autism is handled deftly and sensitively, leading one to assume Siobhan Dowd must have done her research. What I enjoyed about the mystery is that the book is not about Ted’s autism, nor does it turn it into a mysterious superpower, however his way of thinking lends wonderful layers to the writing, as he shares his passion and knowledge of the weather.
I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this book. It’s refreshingly contemporary as well as challenging for those little grey cells, and the best thing is that Robin Stevens has written the sequel, so I get to read more.