Firefly ISBN 9781913102357 £6.99
This is the second in a series of middle grade crime stories featuring the irrepressible Lori and Max. Lori has ambitions to be a private detective and is always keeping notes of what I going on around her; Max is more of the academic type and always has her head deep into a book. The girls find themselves investigating two different mysteries when Max’s mobile phone is stolen and then a rare book owned by Lori’s late parents appears in the possession of a TV antiques celebrity. How they go about solving these mysteries, whilst dealing with a range of issues at their homes makes for an exciting adventure.
Both of the heroines in this series have to cope with problems in their lives. Max lives with her mother, who struggles with being a single parent; whilst Lori lives with her grandmother, but wants to know more about the parents who died when she was a very young child. We are also shown other characters in the story who are having issues and face threats of bullying as well as difficult home lives. However what shines through is the strength that the two girls show in overcoming the villains of the piece and their willingness to help those that are also under threat. This is a great series and I am looking forward to reading more.
Margaret Pemberton