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Book Review: the Weather Detectives

Weather Detectives
 
The Weather Detectives
Author: Michael Erb
Year: 2021
Publisher: Tumblehome, Inc. 
Suggested age range: 9-12
Price: £11.99
Set in the Caribbean, this book sees two young people and their associates set out to investigate some mysterious stories surrounding a cruise ship and its captain. 
Interspersed through the story are excepts from a weather guide being written by one of the characters. In many ways these are the best bits of the book – engaging and well written. It’s just a shame that they don’t really link in to the story.  Given the title, I was expecting the weather, or these asides, to provide clues which the protagonists could use to solve the mystery. 
It was tricky to suggest an age range for this book. The plot line is not very sophisticated, and it’s a short read, but the vocabulary is quite advanced in places. Fans of other mysteries aimed at this age range, such as those written by Lauren St. John, Lauren Child or Robin Stevens, would be disappointed.  
Written for an American audience, the only issue for a reader from another country would be not knowing what the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) is – one of the ‘clues’ is related to this.  
The author has written other books and supplied some suggested related activities at https://www.weatherdetectives.org

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