Paranormal Puppet Show

The Invisible Detective #1

by Justin Richards

London, When fourteen-year-old Arthur Drake shelters from the rain in a dusty shop, the last thing he expects to find is the antique casebook of The Invisible Detective. It may have been written in the 1930s, but it's in his handwriting... London, 1936: Whatever your problem, the Invisible Detective can find the answer. He is a mystery, an enigma. In fact, the truth about the Invisible Detective is known by only four children with their own special talents. Together the children use their special skills to solve crimes and mysteries. But who'd listen to a bunch of kids? Now the gang is about to take on their most sinister case so far. When an incredible touring exhibition takes over their den, the Invisible Detective must deal with disappearing people, faceless bodies, and some deadly puppets...

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Paranormal, Historical, Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Justin Richards is a British writer. He has written many spin off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and he is Creative Director for the BBC Books range. He has also written for television, contributing to Five's soap opera Family Affairs. He is also the author of a series of crime novels for children about the Invisible Detective, and novels for older children. His Doctor Who novel The Burning was placed sixth in the Top 10 of SFX magazine's "Best SF/Fantasy novelisation or TV tie-in novel" category of 2000.

Reviews

[R.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really good book and I recommend that you read the rest of the series because the writing gets better. I first read Ghost Soldiers (3rd book of the series) before this book and loved the way he wrote it especially how the first and second plot come full circle. In this book my only problem is that the second plot is distracting but it's really good.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spooky middle grade mystery with a supernatural element. Lots of chills without the gore. I would recommend this series for fans of John Bellaire or Doctor Who.

[Evan Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pretty good book.

[Denise Gossow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read. Reminded me a bit of three investigators series. Looking forward to the next book.

[Pao Vilchis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

The reason I decided to read this book was because as a 2020 goal I want to read all of my backlist books, specially the ones that were from my childhood that I never got the chance to get to. I picked this one up because the plot seemed intriguing and I love a good mystery book even if it´s middle grade.

In this book we follow Arthur Drake in modern time London and in London 1936 as he and the “invisible detective” try to solve the mystery of the new puppet show in town. I am truly happy to say I really enjoyed this book, it is not a new favorite or anything but for being a book that has been on my shelf for many years I was pleasantly surprised. I was engaged in the story, it read very quickly, it was fast paced and interesting enough to keep me invested.

Of course you can tell this book is for a younger audience so even though I truly enjoyed it I couldn’t give it a higher rating because I am not the target audience for the book (which is totally my fault). The writing is not the best but I was told that it gets better as the series progresses so I’m excited to keep going with the series. I need to be honest and say I really did not care much about the modern day timeline, it was sometimes confused and I was 100% more invested in the 1930´s timeline when the actual mystery was being solved.

The plot twist didn’t shock me, especially because it was pretty obvious all along, but again, for a younger audience the plot twist would have been major. My only thought is that I wish I had read this when I was younger, 2011 me would have adored this book.

[Benedict Reid]

Obviously the start of a series... but maybe not quite enough to make me read the rest in the series. However I'm hardly the right age group, it seems to me pitched at the same audience as the Terrace Dick's doctor who books. And as such it succeeds.

[Yenyen Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Like it

[Cameron Fore]

I look forward to reading the book. I like it so far. From what I have read now I am very interested in the book.

[Ale Monzon · Rating 5 out of 5]

yhea very very good