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The London Eye Mystery

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THE LONDON EYE MYSTERY; Siobhan Dowd; New York: Random House, 2007; 323 pgs.

Kat and Ted Sparks are nervous about the upcoming visit of their cousin Salim, Ted especially, because he would have to share his bedroom because he would have to listen to Salim breathe, and he couldn't listen to the shipping forecast late at night. As it turns out, the kids like Salim, but don't have much time to get acquainted because when they take him to ride on the London Eye, a kind of Ferris wheel for viewing London from aloft, he goes up, but he doesn't come down. Ted is the endearing narrator of this puzzling and exciting mystery, his "differently wired" brain eventually able to solve a seemingly insoluble riddle. Meteorology, the Coriolus force, counting Shreddies at breakfast, and a mysterious stranger at the London Eye all play a part in this intriguing puzzle for upper elementary grade readers and young adults. (Be aware: British slang and vocabulary may be confusing for some readers; also, occasional mild profanity.)
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