Product Description

When Ted and Kat watched their cousin Salim get on board the London Eye, he turned and waved before getting on. But after half an hour it landed and everyone trooped off - and no Salim. Where could he have gone? How on earth could he have disappeared into thin air? So Ted and his older sister, Kat, become sleuthing partners, since the police are having no luck. Despite their prickly relationship, they overcome their differences to follow a trail of clues across London in a desperate bid to find their cousin. And ultimately it comes down to Ted, whose brain works in its own very unique way, to find the key to the mystery. This is an unputdownable spine-tingling thriller - a race against time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5349 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From the Inside Flap
What goes up must come down . . . mustn't it?

When Aunty Gloria's son, Salim, mysteriously disappears from a sealed pod on the London Eye, everyone is frantic.
Has he spontaneously combusted?
[Ted's theory.]
Has he been kidnapped?
[Aunt Gloria's theory]
Is he even still alive?
[The family's unspoken fear.]

Even the police are baffled. Ted, whose brain runs on its own unique operating system, and his older sister, Kat, overcome their prickly relationship to become sleuthing partners. they follow a trail of clues across London in a desperate bid to find their cousin, while time ticks dangerously by . . .

From the Back Cover
Monday 24 May, 11:32 a.m.
Ted and Kate watch their cousin Salim get on board the London Eye. The pod rises from the ground.
Monday 24 May 12.02 p.m.
The pod lands and the doors open. People exit - but where is Salim?
When Aunty Gloria's son, Salim, mysteriously disappears from a sealed pod on the London Eye, everyone is frantic.
Has he spontaneously combusted?
[Ted's theory.]
Has he been kidnapped?
[Aunt Gloria's theory]
Is he even still alive?
[The family's unspoken fear.]
Even the police are baffled. Ted, whose brain runs on its own unique operating system, and his older sister, Kat, overcome their prickly relationship to become sleuthing partners. They follow a trail of clues across London in a desperate bid to find their cousin, while time ticks dangerously by . . .
'Immediately appealing' Guardian
From the winner of the Branford Boase award

About the Author
Siobhan Dowd lived in Oxford with her husband, Geoff, before tragically dying from cancer in August 2007, aged 47. She was both an extraordinary writer and an extraordinary person. The London Eye Mystery was Siobhan's second novel and it has won the 2007 NASEN & TES Special Educational Needs Children's Book Award. Her first novel, A Swift Pure Cry won the Branford Boase Award and the Eilis Dillon Award and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and Booktrust Teenage Prize. Siobhan's third astonishing but sadly posthumous book, Bog Child, will be published in February 2008.

Customer Reviews

An excellent read!
I thought this was an excellent idea for a story. The London Eye is the venue chosen for a very mysterious disappearance. Nevermind what the weather is Ted and Kat brave raining cats and dogs to solve the mystery of Salim's disappearance. They travel around London with a list of Ted's theories whilst the grown ups and police brave the tempestuous Aunt Gloria. This book will make you laugh while at the same time make you bite your nails as the story keeps you in suspense throughout. It is a real page turner and adults will enjoy it as well. I think this will appeal to tourists visiting London who want to improve their English as it is well writtenn and easy to read.

Page turner for boys aged 9 and 7
I've read some newspaper reviews of this book which suggest it to be sub Mark Haddon. Well it is about a boy with Aspergers solving a crime and does a very convincing job of describing the inner life of such a boy. And it is a life enhancing description of someone overcoming things that limit them in the way that they are living their life. But it would be wrong to describe it as a kind of Mark Haddon lite. It's a very different book in that it is geared to a much younger audience. My boys got a great deal out of this - a perception of difference and how it is not necessarily a bad thing. An insight into other children's experiences of being unhappy and isolated at school. And a sense of the excitement of a real page turner. We started off reading two short chapters each night but quickly got into reading four at night and often four in the morning too (the bliss of the summer holidays). Highly recommended.

I hope there is a follow up!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this unusual book by Siobhan Dowd. It really cheered me up as it was very witty and I am eager to go on the London Eye again. I really think Ted is an unusual character and he made me laugh in this story. His obsession with the weather is interesting and he makes the shipping forecast sound interesting. Kat is obsessed with fashion and teases her younger brother, Ted. The mystery is well written and full of suspense. I tried to work out what happened to Salim but had to keep reading. I liked Aunt Gloria too! I have an aunt just like her and I expect most people have too. I hope that there is a a follow up to this excellent novel.