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How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini by Elen Caldecott (view source)
Revision as of 14:16, 26 June 2010
, 14:16, 26 June 2010no edit summary
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Elen Caldecott has done it again! Hard to believe she's managed another book as amusing and insightful as [[How Kirsty Jenkings Jenkins Stole the Elephant by Elen Caldecott|How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant]], but here it is! Ali Ferguson has just moved into a new flat with his mum. He loves her very much, but he also misses his dad, who left them two years before. He desperately hopes his dad will come back to them one day from his travels in Asia: his mum is sure that will never happen. But Ali is a cheerful boy with a positive outlook on life, and he sees moving to their new home as an adventure. And it isn't long before he finds himself in a real-life mystery, every bit as engrossing and dangerous as the ones he loves to imagine.
Ali quickly makes two new friends: Caitlin, who scowls more often than she smiles, and Gez who never stops talking. Together they uncover and start to investigate a series of odd events. A woman has gone missing. Dave, the father of Ali's new friend Caitlin, gets beaten up but won't discuss it. Strange men are smuggling odd-shaped parcels from the river bank to a white van in the middle of the night. Are these three things connected? And then things get more and more complicated: Ali and Gez find clues which point to Caitlin's dad as the villain. It's not too big a stretch of the imagination – even his own daughter admits he looks dodgy. After all, the shaved head, the tattoo and the gold tooth do tend to make him look like a crook. How can Ali and Gez find out the truth without hurting Caitlin's feelings by sharing their suspicions?
Many thanks to Bloomsbury for sending us this excellent book.
Further reading suggestion: If you enjoyed this, and like endearing characters doing slightly madcap things, then you simply must read ''[[How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant'' by Elen Caldecott|How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant]] by the same author. You'll love it!
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