This book is the third in the series. It is a longer book by far than the first two. It begins, intriguingly, with a prologue seemingly unrelated to what we have come to expect as the main story concerning the young girl, Molly and her computer friend, Corry. This unusual start naturally piques the readers’ curiosity about why this historical story appears at all and we wait for the revelation later in the
book. A very nice touch. It would be helpful for readers to have read the previous two books in order to
realise the very unusual growing relationship between Holly and Corry.
This book reveals more about Holly’s parents, introduces Holly’s first crush, and offers some interesting history lessons. It also rapidly becomes a who-done- it as the story unfolds and the action escalates. The relationship between Holly and Corry develops nicely and is a very clever device in all the books. Corry has expansive knowledge and can make things happen using cyber techniques. Molly can therefore make informed judgements and can evade trouble more easily. This does not take anything away from the jeopardy, however, and we still worry about Holly throughout.
Corry attempts to become more ‘human’ in her personality. This is touching and quite funny. The description is very good as we get drawn into some tense scenes and the atmosphere in the drift mine, which is a key moment of the book, is particularly well drawn.
The character of James who we had been introduced to in book two is revealed as an interesting and extremely surprising individual. Some pre-teen issues such as friendship, the first crush, teasing and the
problems associated with becoming a minor celebrity are touched upon. Young readers will empathise with Holly and enjoy these elements. The book becomes, rather unexpectedly, a bit ‘James Bond’ towards its conclusion but this does not detract from the overall story, and I found it enjoyable and a bit ‘tongue in cheek” which was fun. I award this book 5 stars.
By Stella Baker
