The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

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.

The City of Secret Rivers by Jacob Sager Weinstein

A hilarious fantasy adventure set in modern day London.

A truly imaginative caper, involving a giant pig and the sewer system of London. In The City of Secret Rivers Jacob Sager Weinstein puts his screenwriting experience to good use, every chapter ends with the reader thinking: 'I'll just read one more.'

This is an exciting subterranean London adventure, and the first instalment of a middle-grade trilogy.

Hyacinth Hayward has recently arrived from America and is having difficulty adjusting to her new surroundings, especially being in the sole company of her eccentric mother. Everything feels strange. Very strange. And it gets stranger the day she accidentally unleashes the power of a secret river running through London. To prevent a second Great Fire, Hyacinth needs to retrieve a single, magically charged drop of water from somewhere in the city sewer system. Along the way she encounters an eclectic cast of characters – the shambling, monstrous Saltpetre Men who kidnap her mother, the Toshers who battle for control of magical artefacts and a giant pig with whom she has a tea party. The clock is ticking – will she figure out who to trust?