Synopsis: Stolen bicycles? Days before the new skate park opens? This needs investigating. This looks like a case for Mina Mistry.
Summer is here, school is out and there’s … nothing to do?! Since grown-ups invaded the skating rink, there’s nowhere for Mina’s friends to hang out. Luckily, a high-stakes competition is about to mark the opening of a new skate park.
As everyone gets weirdly intense about it, Mina faces a string of mysteries. Who stole her cousins’ new bikes? What does Gareth Trumpshaw want? And who keeps levitating past her window?
Release Date: 12th October 2021
Genres: Middle Grade, Mystery, Friendship, Family, Crime, Humor
Pages: 240
Thank you so much to Sweet Cherry Publishing and Netgalley for the earc being available to read and review.
Review: Mina finds herself solving another crime in her small town, this time after her cousins birthday their gifts of two wonderful new bikes go missing. She sets her mind to figure out what happened to them, who did it and why. With the new skate park about to open and fun contests she along with everyone in town get their scooters, skates and bikes ready decorated and ready.
I didn’t really enjoy this as much as the others, there wasn’t too much of a mystery in this one and it was a lot simpler and wasn’t new evidence reoccurring regularly for her to solve from. There was much of her with mr. panda who is her crime solving partner, nor really much investigating, I feel like a lot of the charm the previous books had were not in this one which is sad. Her case was much too simple and solved too quickly.
Let’s also not ignore Holly’s mum who was just plain rude to Mina throughout and that situation got swept under the rug and no dealt with at all which quite frankly was not great to read.
I still believe it’s a good book and kids will still really enjoy reading it and figuring out for themselves what happed to the bikes and who and why. I just personally found it to not be as exciting, or fun as the previous ones.
About Author: Angie Lake is a freelance writer with a background in the Spanish music industry. Born in the UK and raised on the Spanish Costa Blanca, Angie travelled extensively. She studied Psychology in Barcelona and began her writing career in the Spanish national music press. Angie also writes novels and children’s fiction.
About Illustrator: Ellie, a coffee addict, an avid snowboarder and bad joke-teller. Completed her degree in Illustration in Plymouth and now living in Worcester with her (equally bad joke-telling) boyfriend. They both love lazy Sundays watching cartoons all day, Ellie’s biggest inspiration for drawing! She has always loved watching cartoons and when was around 8 she decided, “Hey, I want to draw like that!” So she picked up her pencil, and here we are. Ellie loves writing and illustrating children’s books. Starting with scribbles before drawing and colouring up in Illustrator and Photoshop. When she’s not doodling or drinking coffee, you will usually find her shopping for makeup, binge-watching cartoons or watching pug videos on Youtube.
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