Scholastic Australia
September 2026
ISBN: 9781761729485
RRP: $18.99
Anyone who knows me also knows my obsession with cosy murder/mystery stories. This new one caters to a younger readership of middle grade – think Year 6 upwards – straddling a gap often in this genre. Sam and his cousins, Archie and Grace, have grown up with the spectre of their maternal aunt’s disappearance thirty years ago.
When Jessica was 18 she was triumphantly thrilled to have the play on which she had laboured in her senior year, being performed by the town’s amateur theatre group. Based on the story of the local garden of statues perched overlooking the sea, it should have been a well-received event for the entire town as well as Jessica’s own family. Instead, before the curtain had even risen, Jessica is startled by something or someone she sees and after exiting a side door is not seen again.
Now 30 years on the family has arranged for a new staging of the play, still believing Jessica to be alive somewhere, hoping that perhaps a memory might be jogged revealing an important clue or lead. While Archie and Grace are willing performers, Sam is far from it but as accidents begin to happen during rehearsals, it becomes apparent that somebody does not want this repeat performance to go ahead – and Sam’s instincts are alerted. But why? Is there more to Jessica’s disappearance than anybody including police have uncovered?
The cousins take it upon themselves to do their own sleuthing with Sam’s urging and this part of the narrative is really engaging. Sam may not be a performer but he is a natural when it comes to investigating.
The final resolution comes after some terrific twists that readers will thoroughly enjoy. For me, there was a sense of let-down in the backstory of Jessica’s long disappearance which I won’t go into it because – spoilers. But I’ll just say there was – and only for me – an unconvincing and somewhat weak explanation as to part of it but aside from that, it’s a well-constructed and definitely incident-packed narrative that readers will enjoy. There will be plenty eager to posit their own theories as the plot unravels.
It’s a 4 🕵️♂️🕵️♂️🕵️♂️🕵️♂️from me for those with a mature approach to their reading.
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