Reviews

"Beatrice Beacham lives in the coastal town of Dorsal Finn, with her parents and younger brother and she and her friends - Patience, Elmo and Lucas - have a mystery solving group called The Newshounds. Opening with a prologue set in Austria 1941, this mixes Nazi's, folklore, the legend of Atlantis and a mysterious youth group to excellent effect - Jeffery has taken the youth-sleuth genre beloved of so many of us (my favourite, of course, was The Three Investigators series) and updated it seamlessly to the present day, topping the thrills with a sassy, feisty heroine and her group of smart friends. The town - which is not as it seems to be - is well described and atmospheric, the supporting cast are wonderfully eccentric and the plot ticks along, aided by a gripping pace and some tense sequences. This is, I think, the fourth in the YA series but the first I've read and it's not quite standalone - previous events are mentioned and one reveal, while cleverly done, featured a character I hadn't encountered before. But that's my fault, not the books and this is a cracking, tightly wrapped mystery that delivers everything it should. Well written, pacey and intriguing, this is a winner and I'd recommend it." - Mark West, British Fantasy Award nominated author of DRIVE