Friday 13 September 2019
ReadItDaddy's Chapter Book of the Week - Week Ending 13th September 2019: "Scoop McClaren: Detective Editor" by Helen Castles (New Frontier Publishing)
"Scoop McClaren: Detective Editor" by Helen Castles introduces young Scoop who loves a good mystery or two, and loves writing up her stories in her own online newspaper.
But all is not as it seems in the quiet coastal town where Scoop and her best friend Evie live.
Every night, just after the stroke of midnight, a nefarious and mysterious person uploads a new news story. The stories are usually full of doom and gloom, and their creator, Sonny Fink, is definitely a 'glass is half empty' type!
His evil predictions seem to have a habit of coming true, and so Scoop and Evie decide to get on the case and find out just what Sonny is up to.
As you can imagine, we see a lot (and boy, do we ever mean A LOT of middle grade detective stories featuring plucky young girls and boys who could give Scooby Doo and his gang a run for their money.
What I instantly liked about this series is that it brings the usual detective / newshound tropes right up to date, immersing the reader in a story world that feels like it's bang on the money for the sort of thing kids are into, and the sort of online antics they'd expect their heroes to get up to as well.
But the true mark of a book of the week is that C usually whistles through them quite quickly, then goes straight back in for a longer second read - and that was the case with this fabulous book.
"Are there any more in this series?" she asked, after devouring the plucky and fast paced adventures of Scoop. We most certainly hope there will be. How about it Helen?
Sum this book up in a sentence: The perfect combination of an exciting story, a plucky and relatable heroine, online smarts and a brilliant conclusion that will leave you, like us, clamouring for more.
"Scoop McClaren: Detective Editor" by Helen Castles is out now, published by New Frontier Publishing (kindly supplied for review).
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