#BookBirthdayBlitz Lady in Red by Tessa Buckley

 

Today it's the Book Birthday Blitz Lady in Red by Tessa Buckley.

About the Author

Tessa Buckley was an inveterate scribbler as a child, and spent much of her time writing and illustrating stories. After studying Interior Design, she spent fifteen years working for architects and designers. She took up writing again after her young daughter complained that she couldn’t find enough adventure stories to read. This led, in 2016, to the publication of  Eye Spy, the first in a series for 9-12 year olds about two teen detectives. There are now two more books in the series: Haunted, which was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2017,, and Lady in Red. She lives by the sea in Essex and recently completed an Open University arts degree.

Follow Tessa on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit tessabuckley.com, Buy Lady in Red

About the book

Pursuing the truth can be a dangerous game…School’s out for the summer, and Eye Spy Investigations have a new case - looking for Lady in Red, a lost masterpiece by Victorian painter, Gabriel Pascoe.

The clock is ticking for Alex and Donna, because the artist’s house, Acacia Villa, where their friend Jake lives, is due to be demolished, and vital clues may be destroyed. And Alex has an additional problem: he is terrified of snakes, and Jake has a pet snake called Queenie…

As the twins pursue their enquiries, they come up against the man who wants to demolish Acacia Villa. But Mr Mortimer is the godfather of their baby half-sister, Sophie, and criticising him could open up family rifts, which have only just healed.

Then Queenie goes missing, setting in motion a disastrous train of events that will turn the search for Lady in Red into the twins’ most dangerous case yet.

Review

This is the third book in the Eye Spy series. It can absolutely be read as a standalone novel. It's in the YA category, but I wouldn't hesitate to give it to a younger reader - the category it is perhaps better suited for.

Alex and Donna accidentally fall into their next case when they befriend a young man and his pet snake. It turns out he is living with the descendant of a famous artist. The house of his ancestor is under threat by a local bigwig developer, which means they have to try and get to the bottom of his own personal mystery really quickly - the hunt for a missing painting is on.

Buckley gives readers the kind of cosy mystery vibe you get from Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, but with a more modern take on the subject. The detectives are nosy, dominant and think they can barge in anywhere and demand change in a heartbeat. One has to admire the tenacity of the young who are willing to take on the criminals of the world and still be of an age where they need permission to stay out late.

Buy The Lady in Red at Amazon Uk (eBook) Publisher: Matador pub date 10 Nov. 2019 or Paperback, Publisher: Troubador pub date 16 Oct. 2019 or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Troubadour. At IBooks.

The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander

Essentially The Art of Not Breathing is about guilt, grief and loss. The focus is on Elsie and the way she deals with the death of her brother.

Everything revolves around water, because that is how Ethan disappeared. In the sea with plenty of people around, and yet he is still gone without a trace.

Elsie can't really remember what happened that day. She is drawn to the water and the flashbacks she gets when she is at the last place Ethan was seen.

There is some element to being submerged, to diving under water and being unable to breathe, which initiates the flashbacks and memories. This realisation drives Elsie to push herself to the point of dangerous excursions and even beyond that.

The story is strangely compelling without being overly dramatic or too young adulty. It is interesting to note that the author hasn't put much of an emphasis on the missing child. Instead it's more about the family left behind and how grief can destroy relationships. Regardless of whether it is via neglect, anger, guilt or just overwhelming sadness.

I liked it, it was subtle and heartfelt without a lot of squee.

Buy The Art of Not Breathing at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford

This is the kind of book I know I would have enjoyed as a child. It speaks to the imagination and the creative imagery that lives inside the heads of little humans.

I can't think of anything more exciting to explore and experiment with than a time-travelling machine. Oh the things I would have done with this as a kid, let alone now as an adult.

It is often complex, but Welford still manages to keep it simple enough so young readers can understand it.

The theory of relativity, of gravity, the butterfly effect and the complexity of time-hopping and time-travelling.

Who can fault Al for wanting to change past events and in doing so his future. It all starts out so innocently and ends up turning into a major catastrophe.

Luckily Al has a partner in crime to travel the seven seas of time. Named after a major football player (as in soccer), his furry pal Alan becomes his travel sidekick. Poor Alan is also used as space monkey guinea-pig, such an exciting life for a hamster.

If you're a looking for the kind of book that will encourage a non-reader to read or keep an avid reader entertained then this is definitely a book I recommend.

Buy Time Travelling with a Hamster at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.