The London Eye Mystery
Siobhan Dowd
David Fickling Books 2007
PLOT
Ted and Kat, a brother and sister from
London, have their cousin Salim visit from Manchester. He is staying one night
with them before he goes to live in America. But it all goes wrong when Ted
suggests they go into London and have a trip on the London Eye and see some
sights before Salim has to go and live in America. Salim gets given a ticket by
a stranger to go to the head of the queue and get into a pod. He goes inside
but does not appear once the ride is finished. That starts a family crisis,
where it becomes clear that Aunt Gloria, Salim’s mother, is in denial about her
son’s feelings over emigrating and does not believe he could have run away. Kat
and Ted are desperately trying to save their cousin but get little recognition
from the adults. After a trail of clues and an intensive mystery it is thanks
to Ted’s extraordinary brain that he solves the case and Salim is brought back
to safety.
CHARACTER
My favourite character in the book was Ted.
What I liked about him was that his brain works differently and he has no
social skills but he provides a different view point to what is going on. He is
obsessed with the weather and listens to the shipping forecast in bed and even
though his Aunt Gloria was described by his mum as a “hurricane waiting to hit
land” he can’t stop thinking about real hurricanes even though it was just a
figure of speech. Although he doesn’t do all the actions, Kat takes that role,
Ted is the brains and a real hero. He never lies but he has to go out with his
sister to Earls Court, which proves to be a crucial part of the story, and he
has to say they are going swimming. His honesty is a really good quality. He
gets ignored by most people as he tries to share his theories, he has nine in
total, about what has happened to Salim and in the end one of them is right.
WRITING STYLE
This is a brilliant story because the
author packs so much into small chapters that want you to keep reading more.
The pace of the book really speeds up and the last 40 pages whizz by. Although
most of the book is full of clues in each chapter they all fit in to the jigsaw
puzzle that makes up the book. The mystery that starts when Salim disappears
only concludes at the very end of the book. The tension rises through every
chapter before suddenly everything fits into place.
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
I would definitely recommend to a friend.
The mystery was fantastic and the characters personalities made you want to be
their friends.
COVER
I liked the way they used the London Eye on the cover and included Big Ben. It drew my eye in the bookshop and the story was as good as the cover.
I liked the way they used the London Eye on the cover and included Big Ben. It drew my eye in the bookshop and the story was as good as the cover.
BOOKWORMS 5 out of 5
