Adam Hills, Murder at the Movies (Rockstar Detectives #2), Penguin Books, February 2023, 320 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780241519691
Grab your popcorn and settle in for more adventure-packed mystery in the second book about thirteen-year-old singing sensation Charley, and her best friend and comedian, George.
This time, they’re in Sydney, and Charley’s starring in a new film about the mysterious robberies that she and George were framed for in Rockstar Detectives #1. But things keep going wrong. The falling lights might have been an accident, and the redback spider could have simply been a coincidence, but as the ‘accidents’ stack up, Charley and George begin to realise that someone may be trying to kill Charley. Who could possibly be causing all these dangerous incidents, and why?
Is it Chad, the assistant who pops up wherever they go? Or Marley, the surly actor playing the part of George in the movie? Or could it be Macy, the PR manager who would do anything to create some attention for the film? Who stands to gain the most if something happens to Charley? Or is someone trying to shut down the filming altogether?
Charley and George are going to have to put their heads together and work fast to figure it out before things turn deadly.
All the elements that made the first Rockstar Detectives such a fun read are here again in spades. There’s humour and mystery aplenty, and the themes of friendship and support are another strength of this series, as Charley and George are there for each other every step of the way.
Once again, the clues are clearly compiled, and the reader is invited into Charley and George’s thought processes as they try to work their way through the suspects. Adam Hills always plays fair with the reader, in that every clue that Charley and George consider is laid out for consideration. The question becomes, will the reader work out the significance of the clues, and see through the misdirection, before Charley and George do?
I enjoyed seeing the landscape and landmarks of New South Wales as Charley and George visit various places with the cast and crew of their epic film. From a nail-biting moment on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to their walk in the Blue Mountains, and the Australian animals that they come across at the zoo (and in Charley’s swimming bag), Hills is showcasing Australia to the world.
Hills’ personal experience with disability has informed George’s experiences as a wheelchair user, and disability and different ability is dealt with in matter-of-fact way throughout Murder at the Movies, from making the beach accessible for a wheelchair, to the moment when they all realise that the stage where George is due to perform isn’t wheelchair accessible. Hills also brings up the question of diverse representation in film and media, through a conversation that George has with the tour guide in the Blue Mountains.
This series is ideal for readers aged ten to thirteen, and Hills has delivered two fun and fantastic mysteries to solve so far, packed full of action and excitement. Hopefully Charley and George will have plenty more adventures to come.
Reviewed by Emily Clarke