I am giving this book a 4 out of 5 because there is no way to give half amounts. For me, I feel as though it was a strong 3.5. While the entire premise of the story was incredibly interesting, something was lost by having chapters that were only a few pages long. The introductions to the characte...
Well-Written, Well-Plotted, Devilishly Clever, and LongI would second every comment I've seen about how clever the story is, how well plotted, how amusing, and how creative. The characters are engaging and interesting, the atmosphere is as thick as a London fog, and the treatment of ghosts, from ...
When Dirk Dilly the Dragon Detective is asked to follow a husband who is behaving suspiciously, he becomes involved in a mystery involving some very wicked Tree Dragons. Soon Holly is on hand to help Dirk and between them they find some solutions, not just to the behaviour of the suspicious husba...
When Dirk Dilly gets a call from Holly asking him to help her find her missing cat, he thinks that the case will be very tedious. However, soon he and the intrepid Holly are engaged in a life or death struggle in which the missing cats play only a small part. This is a case that will seriously te...
THE COOK In stark contrast to the other servants at Thornthwaite Manor, Mrs Bagshaw, the cook was one of the most naturally and relentlessly cheerful people in the world. She always had a smile for the twins, and reserved all her strict words for Hazel. A number of years ago, the twins had become...
28 ‘Stanley, look, hairy-faced meanies’ Stanley left the professor and went back to Jupp’s door. Again he knocked and called her name, but to no avail. ‘I don’t think the girl with shiny eyes is in there,’ said Spore, poking his head out of Stanley’s pocket. ‘She is. She just doesn’t want to spea...
Clay, with his ability to make money, had always supported Fred financially, whereas Fred had looked after Clay in every other way. Over the years Fred had acted as butler, personal guard, theatrical agent, nurse and best friend, depending on Clay’s needs at the time. While the rest of the world ...
With the warmth of Holly’s arms around his neck, Dirk searched the streets, but each time they found a truck that fitted the description, they would get close only to find it wasn’t the one they were looking for. They had reached Waterloo, when Holly eventually spotted one with the letters G and ...
Once inside, I was stuck on the slow-moving conveyor belt of that school day. Short of running out of the front door, there was no way off it. I signed the late register, then went into assembly. Mr Cornish sat by the side of the hall. PC Liphook stood at the front, speaking to Mrs Lewis. My clas...
Aunt Celeste apologises because she thinks she should be showing us the sights but Mum and I are happy to relax. In the afternoon Amelia shows me an album of photos of her, including some modelling ones in which she is wearing heavy make-up and pouting at the camera. ‘This is my favourite,’ she s...
As a young girl, her feet had skipped along these cobbles as she sang prettily and sold flowers, only occasionally adding to her day’s take with colourful hankies swiped from gentlemen’s pockets. A few years on and Nell’s steps were slower and her attempts to look appealing were more studied and ...
It was blistered and blackened but it would heal more quickly than the terrible injuries Almaz and Elsinor had sustained during their exile. He had left them on the beach waiting for Minertia to appear. He hadn’t told them about her final confession. She had said the secre...