The Good Turn

Product Information

Sharna has written three books, Tate Kids British Art Activity Book, Tate Kids Modern Art Activity Book and High Rise Mystery - the first in a middle-grade series featuring the sibling detective duo everyone’s dying to meet. There’s a lot of detailed descriptions in the book which seem totally unnecessary in the end. It added to the atmosphere I guess (all the snow, the trips to the supermarket, Cormac and his girlfriend Emma and more) but just made it slow and overly long. A missing child leads to Cormac Reilly and his protege Peter Fisher being on the outs. While Peter is shipped to Roundstone to work with his estranged father, Reilly digs deep into the corrupt police dept he is being forced out of.

Looking for more challenging tasks, Josie enlists her friends Wesley and Margot into her very own Scout troop, the Copseys, named after the street they all live on. Together they start their quest for their camping badge by sleeping out near to the abandoned factory behind their houses. From the award-winning author of High Rise Mystery. 'Brilliant; a joy to the very end' Katherine Rundell. Even though there are a lot of differences, I felt like this book is a new version of the Famous Five. Yes, there are three characters in the book, not five (and no Timmy the dog). No, there isn't a private island, they don't have picnics with ginger beer (though there is a camping picnic) and in The Good Turn, it's about three neighbours who want to do good deeds in their neighbourhood, rather than cousins who enjoy spending the school holidays together at Kirrin Cottage. McTiernan’s real strength, however, is her characterisation. Cormac and co are all so easy to imagine. (This would be a great book series for someone to turn into a television series.)

Publisher

Police corruption, an investigation that ends in tragedy and the mystery of a little girl's silence - three unconnected events that will prove to be linked by one small town. Whereas books #1 and #2 both had one main, obvious crime, the fabulous thing about this story is that there are actually a number of different things going on at the same time. Some of the issues that popped up towards the end of The Ruin are now under Reilly's magnifying glass, along with the events occurring in a few other seemingly disparate threads. The way McTiernan weaves the story together is just brilliant. Puffin started out as a non-fiction publisher, with its first title appearing in 1940. As the most iconic and well-known children’s book brand in the UK today, we are always on the lookout for innovative ways to tell the world’s favourite stories and for brilliant new debut talent and brands that connect with today’s young readers, from newborn up to twelve years old. The Good Turn is the 3rd in the Cormac Reilly series by Aussie author Dervla McTiernan and it was suspenseful, filled with tension and an excellent addition to the series. I loved every minute of it, drawn into the lives of the main characters and the cold, relentless winter in Ireland. An exceptional read, The Good Turn is one I have no hesitation in recommending highly. Bring on #4 😊

Again there are several plot strands, converging at the end. Reilly helps Fisher by using his high-level connections, forged prior to his move to Galway. And Fisher inadvertently helps Reilly, just when Reilly’s options to expose the corruption seem to have collapsed.Once the "mystery" is solved, the book then focused on the children's good intentions as they get to know the couple, and the injustice of their lives and what happens next. Plus the tensions between the children over Josie's determined "organising" spills over, along with her feelings about the new baby brother who's soon to arrive. It does really give the book a contemporary feel, focusing more on the kids as a friendship group with difficulties (just added a new member) and the difficulties of their private lives. This is a brilliant book for year 5/6 with a great sense of adventure, friendship and standing up for what you believe in.”