Dead Man's Cove (Laura Marlin Mysteries 1): Book 1

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The action of the book only really starts quite near the end and is told via some lengthy exposition. Dead Mans Cove can be seen from the trail that leads from the parking lot to the Cape Disapointment lighthouse. My only gripe is the use of home education as a cover for child slavery, but it does make a useful plot device. Accompanied by her trusty companion, Skye, a three-legged husky, the dog she's always wanted, Laura's adventures begin in this first captivating mystery, winner of the 2011 Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. If you ever take a trip to the South Coast of this beautiful province, make sure you head to Deadman's Cove.

Dead Man’s Cave has this bucolic and coastal setting in one of the prettiest towns in Cornwall, perhaps in the UK, where a young girl has a Blyton–esque adventure. One of the best things about Dead Man’s Cove is it manages to do everything I’ve mentioned above, keeping the prose simple enough for an 8 year old, yet without being condescending. Laura made a note of the time because she'd been waiting for this moment for eleven years, one month and five days and she wanted always to remember it - the hour her life began. When orphaned Laura Marlin is sent from the children’s home to live with her uncle in Cornwall, she dreams of a life of excitement just like the characters in her favourite detective novels.THIS IS NOT THE REAL TRAIL, and luckily before we learned it we decided it was unsafe and turned around. John's usual sleuth-detective style, Laura's investigations lead her into a dangerous adventure with smugglers and new friends, spies and secrets. When not writing or saving leopards and dolphins, she is a full-time valet to her cats, Max, Skye and Freya. Lauren St John grew up surrounded by horses, cats, dogs, horses and a pet giraffe on a farm and game reserve in Zimbabwe, the inspiration for her bestselling White Giraffe and One Dollar Horse series, as well as standalone novels, The Snow Angel and The Glory. At one point, there’s a choice of taking a right fork and heading to the Lewis and Clark visitor center.

The heroine, 11-year-old orphan Laura Marlin, has been rescued from the children's home where she lives by her mysterious uncle, Calvin Redfern. Calvin Redfern: “The ink-black figure of a man stood framed against the yellow light with a wolfhound at his side. So whilst the reality of the “silkworms” and Tariq is blurred, she still pushes children to view and become educated on the plight of others and to be strong and resilient themselves not just for their own well-being, but for others who cannot.Beautifully written and well paced with excellent main characters and pitched perfectly for the audience - a roaring adventure with just the right amount of peril. She loves nothing more than to gossip, seems to know everything that goes on, and is such a delight that in truth she deserves a book or two of her own. We have been reading together and she has been reading some on her own - have found myself dashing upstairs when she is at school to catch up with where she is in the book!