S.C.R.E.A.M - The Mummy's Revenge by Andrew Beasley, reviewed by Dawn Finch

First some blurb...

Charlie Steel and Billy Flint are top-secret investigators of Supernatural Crimes, Rescues, Emergencies and Mysteries – aka S.C.R.E.A.M. 

In this first book of a new series they track down no ordinary burglar. This burglar is a 3,000 year old Egyptian mummy on the search for precious jewels for his evil master, and he’s out to destroy all who stand in his way....

I am a big fan of a classic adventure yarn, and this new book from Andrew Beasley ticks all the boxes. The characters are instantly likeable and believable, and the story has all the elements of adventure that will grip a young reader.

Charlie and Billy are intelligent, brave and funny, and the mystery is just enough to keep a child puzzled but not baffled. The story moves on rapidly with spooky mummies, missing jewels and lots of chasing and escaping through dark and sinister Edinburgh streets.

I feel that I should mention that one of the characters, Charlie, is in a wheelchair due to polio. I feel reluctant mentioning it because, while it is mentioned in the text, and obviously some of Charlie's movements are restricted due to her chair, it really is not a big part of the plot and certainly does not define her. I found this very positive and wish that every writer managed to include disabled characters with such subtlety and grace.

The book is not too long, and I think it would be particularly suited to any children who are perhaps less engaged as readers because the chapters are short and the pace is rapid. No waiting around ages for things to happen in this book! The mysterious events come thick and fast as Billy and Charlie are hot on the trail of the jewel thieves. That said, I think that all young readers who enjoy a fast-paced book with a more traditional feel would enjoy this a lot.

Billy is cheeky and street-smart, and Charlie is the brains of the outfit, With additional characters like Doogie the Scottish servant boy and a whole set of strange adults, mysterious butlers and maids, and shuffling stinky mummified creatures - this is cracking Victorian-period adventure that will please all fans of spooky mysteries.

S.C.R.E.A.M - The Mummy's Revenge is published in the UK by Usborne (1 April 2017)
ISBN - 978-1474906920

Reviewed by Dawn Finch
www.dawnfinch.com
@dawnafinch

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THE HOUSE OF EYES by Patricia Elliott .....reviewed by Adèle Geras

Once again, full disclosure. When I review a book, I often have to confess to knowing the writer. In this case, it's even worse. I first met Patricia when she was a student on a Ty Newydd writing course which I taught jointly with the much-missed Jan Mark. Even back then, and it was a long time ago, Patricia was obviously going to be a successful writer and since then, she has gone on to produce many wonderful books,  my favourites of which are MURKMERE and  THE DEVIL IN THE CORNER.

In HOUSE OF EYES, the intended audience is younger. It's what the Americans call Middle Grade. Any good reader of about eight and up would love it and there are not enough books being written for this age group.  Because I'm passionate about introducing younger readers to historical fiction and because I'm convinced that reading historical fiction at an early age can have nothing but good effects, I'm happy  to be able to welcome Connie Carew, our intrepid heroine, who will, if the promise of the title is fulfilled, be having lots of mysterious adventures in the future. This is reassuring. If there's one thing that avid young readers like, it's the idea that the books they enjoy are part of a series of stories which isn't going to run out any time soon. 

This first story is enjoyable from beginning to end. We start with a plan of the house in Alfred Place West, where Connie lives with her aunts Dorothea and Sylvie and her horrible step-uncle, Harold Thurston. Connie wants to be an archaeologist and is forever trying to visit the British Museum. Her horrible step-uncle is Up to No Good...we suspect  this almost from the beginning,  but it takes Connie some time to reveal the depths of his nastiness, in a climax which is most satisfying and exciting.

There's a tragedy in the background here. Ida, Dorothea's daughter,  disappeared when she was very small and is assumed to be dead. Dorothea is bereft and the story begins when she visits a medium in order to get in touch with her dead daughter. Shortly after that, a young woman called Ida turns up looking for a housemaid's job at Alfred Place West....is she the real Ida, miraculously restored, or is she an imposter, after the fortune that awaits her?

 There is romance here, and excitement and even though the story is for younger readers, Elliott doesn't gloss over the nastier side of Victorian exploitation of the bereaved. The whole world of mediums and charlatans is very well evoked. All the characters who interest us are brought vividly to life, especially the aunts and nasty uncle Harold with his creaky whalebone corsets. 

Elliott writes so well that it's hard to pick out any passage to quote. She has a light touch and there's humour everywhere in this book. Here she describes Connie's  rather sceptical reaction the séance:
"Aunt Sylvie  was sitting up half the night to watch for a ghostly girl to float in through her bedroom door. But to Connie the girl had seemed very much alive, despite her strangely luminous frock." That 'despite' is a period touch  of the lightest possible kind.

Connie's piano teacher, Arthur, is described thus: "He had long thin fingers and the rest of him was long and thin as well......his ankles and wrists protruded, knobbly but elegant." Arthur is visible to every reader and we love him, because of that subtly-placed "elegant" and which contrasts humorously with  "knobbly." It's very high quality writing indeed and it pervades the whole book.

I hope this novel reaches the audience it deserves. It's funny, exciting, well-written and has a proper plot and structure.....not something you can depend on finding in a book,  but which is immensely satisfying whenever you find it. This is a delightful book  which I enjoyed enormously.   Do try it!


Published by Hodder Children's Books in paperback.
ISBN: 9781444924695
£6.99

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