Matt McAvoy Book Review

I enjoy reading children’s stories from time to time; they are a good way to mix up the genres and spend your time on something a little less serious.  But they have to be done well, especially if by an adult author.  And this one is; it is a good, enjoyable read, and a worthy opener to a promising series of books for pre-teen kids.  R.L. Fink does a great job of creating an interesting mystery, with some fun elements.  And, best of all for me, there are some brilliant illustrations by Antony Wootten.  Whilst I felt the story could have perhaps been a touch more involved and clever, it is admirable that the focus for Fink is on creating discussion points for readers; in that respect there are clearly intended moral lessons in the tale.  I did find one element confusing, and I believe Fink touches on this in the appendix questions, but I wasn’t sure what year the book was supposed to be set; I assumed it was a modern tale, but then the children begin talking about their parents being overseas in Germany and Japan, which of course hints at a wartime fable; Mickie’s trademark hat, too, is perhaps a clue in this respect.  This, of course, may imply a more profound underlying backstory to these kids; I just personally hope that Fink doesn’t take the characters too deeply into any respective backstory.

I really liked the play on the noir detective genre; Mickie as a gumshoe, trading his services for candy, but given a modern twist, in that the damsel in distress saves the day with her fists.  This is all good, innocent fun, and Fink appears to be creating a great little team of amateur sleuths.  It’s always nice to read a book which is about childhood in the moment, and whether you are a young reader or an adult, I think you’ll find something appealing about this pretty good instalment to a series of books which I think is going to great.