Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Reading Time
    • Home
    • Reviews
      • Highly Recommended
      • CBCA Short Listed
      • Early Childhood Books
      • Younger Readers
      • Intermediate Readers
      • Older Readers
      • Great Read Alouds
      • Information Books
      • Picture Books
      • Professional Development
    • Interviews
    • Suggestions
    • News
    • Meet The Review Team
    • Contact Us
    Reading Time
    You are at:Home»Reviews»Older Readers»The Vanishing (48 Hours #1)

    The Vanishing (48 Hours #1)

    0
    By Admin on October 30, 2017 Older Readers

    Gabrielle Lord,  The Vanishing (48 Hours #1),  Scholastic Australia,  1 Sept 2017, 240pp.,  $14.99 (pbk),  ISBN: 9781743629758

    One kidnapping.

    One cold case.

    Two amateur investigators.

    48 hours to solve the case.

    Jazmine “Jazz” Mandel is an amateur teen sleuth who just can’t keep her head out of true crime stories, and sees a mystery around every corner.  When her best friend is kidnapped and calling the police is not an option, she knows she only has 48 hours to gather evidence and crack the case before the trail goes cold…

    48 Hours is a fun mystery novel for teen readers, combining elements of modern culture and technology with classic thriller elements.  The story opens with Jazz imagining herself as a detective, before we discover she’s actually just daydreaming on her way to school.

    Told in the third person, we like Jazz and we warm to her as a character, even if we do occasionally feel exasperated by her impetuous and impatient nature.  Her adventure sees her teamed up with a boy from her school named Phoenix, and together they work to unravel the mystery of the kidnapping as well as a decades-old murder that is intertwined with their friend’s disappearance.

    The book is full of humour and wit, and Lord does a great job making her characters believable and likeable.   In the tradition of Nancy Drew and The Famous Five, Jazz and Phoenix join a long line of juvenile detectives solving crimes committed by adults who vastly underestimate their resourcefulness and resolve.

    The ending was just a little bit Scooby Doo for my liking – the villain stopped only just short of saying, “I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you snooping kids!”  But on balance I still enjoyed the ride, it was energetic and well-paced and would make a good page-turner for the 13-16 year-old age bracket.

    This is the first in what is to be a series of 48 Hours books starring Jazz and Phoenix, with two new stories soon to be released.  Who knows what kind of trouble our heroes will find themselves in next time?

    Reviewed by Christian Price

    Cold Case Criminal Investigation Detective humour kidnapping Mystery resilience Resourcefulness series of books Suspense Technology thriller

    Related Posts

    Spotlight Please…It’s Stevie Louise

    How to Make a Monster

    Mars Awakens

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • Themes
    • Curriculum
    Action adventure Airplanes Alphabet Anxiety autism Bullying CBCA Awards Coming of age Dystopian emotions family fantasy friendship grief Historical humour magic Mystery Post apocalyptic Readers Cup reluctant readers school Sci-Fi series of books siblings Sport Starting school Teacher Notes
    ANZAC Australian animals Australian history Biography Culture & Diversity Disabilities First Nations Geography health Humanities mental health Poetry Reconciliation resilience Science STEM Stolen Generation sustainability Wordless books



    Recent Comments
    • Barbara on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    Recent Posts
    • The Bush Birds
    • Star of Anise
    • Spotlight Please…It’s Stevie Louise
    • Moth in a Fancy Cardigan
    • How to Make a Monster
    Recent Comments
    • Barbara on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    © Copyright 2021 The Children’s Book Council of Australia - All rights reserved

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.