Do you want to unravel a mystery in your home town?

The Invasion of Crooked Oak

Written by: Dan Smith @DanSmithAuthor

Illustrated by: Chris King @ChrisKingArt

Published by: Barrington Stoke @BarringtonStoke

Published on: September 2020

Price: £7.99

First line: Pete Brundle and his best friend Krish were looking at their phones in the dinner hall, ignoring the commotion around them.

Genre: Mystery

Thanks to my local library for the review copy.

Whats it all about? This is the first book in the Crooked Oak series of mystery books, all set in the fictional town of Crooked Oak. The story stars school friends: Pete, Krish and Nancy, as a mystery sleuthing trio who love to find mysteries, any mysteries in their boring town to solve. 

In this case the story is about the strange behaviour of firstly Nancy’s parents and then other adults in the town. Is it the franking site or some other cause?

Why should I read it? The characters are well created and relatable to modern children. The tension builds up nicely, but some things would be too scary for under 10s. Its probably a level below in scariness compared to Goosebumps. The description of adults and the area is really well crafted. It would be good to look at fracking in class, to enable children to really connect with the story. My class enjoyed the story and the short chapters make it great to read for pleasure at the end of the day. Due to the coloured paper and easy to read layout it’s great for all readers. Additionally, the illustrations bring the story to life and excited all the readers.