"Mystery, atmosphere and Blyton-esque adventure abounds in this seaside-set story"
Melding modern day derring-do with classic-style whodunnit mystery and local history, Mark Dawson’s The Case of the Smuggler's Curse (the first in The After-School Detective Club series) comes recommended as a contemporary alternative to Enid Blyton. Co-written with Allan Boroughs and featuring lively illustrations by Ben Mantle, this character-driven story will keep adventure fans enthralled from start to finish.
Meet Lucy (brave, loyal and athletic), Max (geeky genius with a wicked sense of humour), Joe (intrepid, funny, and prone to stretching the truth) and Charlie (fearless, fierce and devoted to her dog, Sherlock). Four friends whose everyday lives are sent a-spinning when they spot a spectral figure brandishing a lantern on Southwold Beach during the depths of winter. Before they know it, the gang find themselves embroiled in a perilous smuggling plot, and in trouble with the police.
With lots of dialogue keeping the story moving (and readers keen to turn those pages), the writing is both evocative and engagingly clear, and the book’s not short on laughs either.
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