Knightley & Son by Rohan Gavin

I stumbled across Knightley & Son, the debut novel from Rohan Gavin, entirely by accident on the way home after a trip to London. To cut a long story short, the book that was I planning to read on the train ended up with a cup of hot tea spilled all over it. I had about thirty seconds to grab something from the station bookshop before the train left, and Knightley & Son was the only book on their shelves that wasn't either a Wimpy Kid, Tom Gates or something very similar.

As it turned out, I'm really glad I picked it up because it's a great read. I love detective stories and this has a lot to recommend it. Darkus Knightley is a highly intelligent young boy with a complicated family life. His father, a top private detective, has been in a coma for the past four years and Darkus has spent a lot of time secretly reading through his top secret case files. One morning, with no warning at all, Darkley's father suddenly wakes up. At around the same time a mysterious new book, The Code, is starting to cause chaos all over the country. The book seems to be linked to a mysterious organisation called the Combination. Darkley, his father and his step-sister, Tilly, have no choice but to work together to solve the mystery, which gets more dangerous by the hour.

Knightley & Son is a real page-turner of a book. It's pacy and full of action, and contains a few decent jokes. Most of the main characters have important parts to play in the story, and they are all well-developed and quirky enough to make them interesting (although the constant references to Tilly's hair colour do get slightly irritating). How likely it is for a man who has been in a coma for four years to suddenly leap out of bed and start getting involved in high-speed car chases I don't know, but this certainly doesn't detract from a fun and energetic story. It ends well, with the main plot resolved, but with enough open ends for a sequel (or two).

If you enjoy the Young Sherlock Holmes books by Andrew Lane or the Young Bond books by Charlie Higson, then give this a try. Recommended for Year 5 and up. I'm still disappointed that I missed out on my cup of tea on the train though!