London Eye Mystery

by Siobhan Dowd

Overview

Ted and Kat watched their cousin Salim board the London Eye. But after half an hour it landed and everyone trooped off–except Salim. Where could he have gone? How on earth could he have disappeared into thin air? Ted and his older sister, Kat, become sleuthing partners, since the police are having no luck. Despite their prickly relationship, they overcome their differences to follow a trail of clues across London in a desperate bid to find their cousin. And ultimately it comes down to Ted, whose brain works in its own very unique way, to find the key to the mystery. This is an unput-downable spine-tingling thriller–a race against time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780375849350
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	02/12/2008
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	429 KB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Siobhan Dowd was named one of the "top 100 Irish-Americans" for her global anti-censorship work with the writers’organization PEN America. Siobhan Dowd’s novels include A Swift Pure Cry, for which she was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start author, and Bog Child. She died in August 2007 from breast cancer.

Editorial Reviews

When Ted's cousin Salim visits London, he insists on riding "The London Eye," an immense observation wheel. A stranger gives Salim a free ticket; Salim enters a passenger capsule; 30 minutes later, when the capsule returns from its rotation, Salim has vanished. What follows is an intricate mystery, related from the unique point of view of 12-year-old Ted, who has Asperger's Syndrome. Ted is a brilliant but literal thinker who sees things in things in terms of mathematical probabilities. His brain, though differently wired, is as efficient as a computer. It is precisely the logical mind needed to solve the mystery, and it saves Salim's life. This is a well-constructed puzzle, and mystery lovers will delight in connecting the clues, but what makes this a riveting read is Ted's voice. He is bright, honest, brave and very funny about his "syndrome" (his teacher has given him a cartoon code for recognizing the five basic emotions). The message, grippingly delivered, is that kids, even differently abled ones, are worth paying attention to. (Fiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews

Starred review, Publishers Weekly, December 3, 2007:
"Grabs readers from the beginning and doesn't let go."

Starred review, Booklist, January 1, 2008:
“Everything rings true here, the family relationships, the quirky connections of
Ted’s mental circuitry, and, perhaps most surprisingly, the mystery.”

Starred review, Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2007:
“This is a well-constructed puzzle, and mystery lovers will delight in connecting the clues.”

Starred review, School Library Journal, February 2008:
“A dense mystery tied together with fully fleshed out characters and a unique narrator.”

Starred review, The Horn Book, May/June 2008:
“The best mysteries have at their centers gifted but very human sleuths—their abilities balanced by equally significant flaws or idiosyncrasies. This one is no exception.

From the Publisher