Kat Wolfe Investigates

Description

After a break-in at their London home, Kat Wolfe and her veterinary-surgeon mum decide it's time to move to the country. Dr Wolfe's new job in idyllic Bluebell Bay on Dorset's Jurassic Coast comes with a condition: they have to adopt Tiny, a huge, near-wild Savannah, who resists Kat's best attempts at cat whispering. When she starts a pet-sitting agency to make pocket money, her troubles escalate. The owner of her first client, an Amazon parrot, vanishes from his fortified, gadget-filled mansion, leaving a half-packed suitcase and a mysterious parcel. The only person who shares Kat's conviction that he's the victim of foul play is Harper Lamb, the American daughter of a palaeontology professor. A language and coding whizz, Harper is laid up with two broken legs thanks to her racehorse, the 'Pocket Rocket' - Kat's newest client. What starts out as mystery-solving holiday fun quickly turns deadly for Wolfe and Lamb. When all clues point to an army base, can they count on their unruly animal friends to save the day - and their lives?

Lauren St John grew up surrounded by horses and wild animals on a farm and game reserve in Zimbabwe, the inspiration for her memoir, Rainbow's End. After studying journalism, she relocated to the UK, where she spent nearly a decade on the European and PGA Tours as golf correspondent to the Sunday Times. She also wrote the acclaimed music biography Hardcore Troubadour: The Life & Near Death of Steve Earle. She is the author of the multi-award-winning The White Giraffe series for children, as well as the Laura Marlin mysteries, the first of which, Dead Man's Cove, won the 2011 Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. Her bestselling One Dollar Horse series was followed by YA horse romance, The Glory, now optioned for film.

Everything you want from a Lauren St John book: timeless storytelling with a contemporary edge, thrilling mystery, characterful animals and tenacious children yearning to make their mark on the world. * Editor's Choice, The Bookseller * Hurrah for a new series from Lauren St John! It's literary Katnip for the summer holidays - especially for dedicated pet fanciers... St John writes with apparent ease, but refuses to compromise on language while mixing modern life with old-fashioned Blyton-style follow-the-clues mystery. It's an excellent combo. If this first invigorating book is anything to go by, St John had better start writing some follow-ups. -- Alex O'Connell * Saturday Times, Children's Book of the Week * St John's book is suspenseful in its shifting possibilities, constructed with care, scattered with information, techno-savvy and engaging in its characterisation -- Nicolette Jones * Children's Book of the Week, Times * Full of adventure, excitement, heart and wit... Kat Wolfe Investigates is a story to delight in. * Katherine Rundell * St John is a wonderful writer... this is just the sort of thoroughly wholesome novel that should really be consumed outdoors. -- Emily Bearns * Telegraph * Warm, intriguing characterisation with just the right amount of peril - not to mention a resident wildcat. -- Imogen Russell Williams * Guardian * Kat Wolfe Investigates is the kind of book I'd have devoured as a child - lucky, lucky kids having this to read now. * Abi Elphinstone * All you want from a good mystery - a compelling storyline, a determined lead character, heroes and villains, some intriguing animals for a refreshing change... all excellently interwoven * Parents in Touch * A story with a great sense of adventure, transporting you to that place of excitement when you can't wait to find out what happens next! * The Book Activist, Book of the Month *