by SARAH TODD TAYLOR;
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An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.
Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction.
If you are here for my selfie, please read on down to the bottom of the page.
The latest fun gangster-style story hasn't quite got itself finished, so there is no warm-up/B-Movie to go along with this 1930s spy adventure.
So, without further ado, please open your mind and enter the world of 1930s France, a place where German spies abound. If you are into fine eating, especially gastronomic cakes to make you drool, you'd head to Paris's finest bakery, Vive Comme L'Éclair.
ALICE ÉCLAIR, SPY EXTRAORDINAIRE! in A SPRINKLING OF DANGER.
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Author: SARAH TODD TAYLOR
Artist: BEATRIZ CASTRO
Published by: NOSY CROW
Publication date: 14 September 2023
Paperback ISBN: 978 - 183 994 88 55
Cover price for Paperback £7.99
Pages: 272 (approx)
Age range: Middle Grade (9 AND upwards)
Any dogs or cats? Yes, a feline called Casper, who gets more than he bargains, AGAIN!
To see our review of book 1, click this LINK. OR type this link https://erinthecatprincess.blogspot.com/2022/07/alice-eclair-spy-extraordinaire-recipe.html
To see our review of book 2, click this LINK. OR type this link https://erinthecatprincess.blogspot.com/2022/12/alice-eclair-spy-extraordinaire.html
SPOILER ALERT
Yes, some as to wider plot direction and characters.
Thank you to...
We are exceedingly grateful to Sarah Todd Taylor and Hannah Prutton of Nosy Crow Publishers for the fantastic proof copy of this highly-anticipated, delectable book before publication.
As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.
First and foremost, the books we review are those we like and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their children, friends and students will enjoy.
The plot
Our story opens with Alice and her spy boss, Claude, overhearing the apparent demise of a French agent at the hands of Alice's traitorous uncle Robert. It is the latest in a string of incidents where agents or their locations have been compromised, or worse. Claude believes the theft of a secret map showing the agents' positions, the incidents and the presence of an American director, Glen Carmine, at the Palace Versaille to make a film are linked. Carmine is believed by Claude to be a traitor from the first war, though he could never prove it.
Somehow Carmine has to be sending snippets of info from the map out to foreign agents. As the current checking of the film production's post and telephone calls has not proven anything, Alice goes undercover on the film set to keep Carmine under close observation.
When Alice presents some of her delicious macarons to the star of the film, Catrine Belle, she gains favour, a request for daily cakes, and thus access to the set. Unfortunately, Alice has been paired up with an adult agent and new recruit called Pierre, who manages to secure a role on set as Catrine's personal hairstylist. He, however, does not like playing any sort of part with Alice. It is a conflict that only gets worse and threatens the mission. In fact, Pierre seems eager to get Alice off the set and off the case! But why? Has it anything to do with notes he is seen passing to Carmine, who is doing her best to ignore him?
When Alice is sent tumbling to the gutter to avoid being run over by Catrine's car, it seems there is another suspect to be watched.
During her spying, Alice discovers a fake vase. Clearly, someone has stolen the original. But with the thief of a clock already fired, is there another thief in the cast and crew? Alice has a plan, and surprisingly it involves a dusting of icing sugar and more of her cake-making skills.
Help soon arrives in the form of an adult, Stella Blythe – Alice's reporter friend from book two, but not before another attempt on her life which leaves her cold in more ways than one. It seems that the spy, or spies, are on to Alice. Stella was attending a meeting where the map was stolen from and was, as they say, in the frame. Duly freed, Stella intends to find the culprit, who Claude says is at Versaille.
Through her investigations, Alice spots the set designer going out in the snowstorm and handing over something to somebody who soon vanishes from the grounds. Could he instead be the spy?
With clues leading this way and that, will Alice bring the real master spy to justice? More to the point, will she be alive to do it. y the time the film is a wrap?
With only a radio set and a small lipstick-size flare, she sets out on what could be a mission impossible!
So, what did we think?
First, I need to caveat the above by saying I have simplified the plot slightly to preserve a lot of action, adventure and mystery. It is, for want of a phrase, just a tasty morsel of a much bigger, cream-filled, strawberry-topped gateau that is just waiting in the patisserie window with your name on it. No calories, just lots of filling.
I love that in this adventure, Alice is developing as an agent. Trusted by her boss, Claude, she isn't just a kid with incredible baking skills. Alice has proved her worth as an asset in the service of France and the post-WW1 free world in the preceding two adventures. But, in a primarily male and adult world, she is also very vulnerable. So she fights on a few fronts, both age and gender. I think this great dynamic will appeal to most young readers. And in an age where to do what Alice and some of the characters do was to risk all, the peril we see here is well placed and informed for the Middle-Grade reader.
This is Alice's third mission, and my, she really has quite a mountain to climb to expose the villains.
There are nice twists and turns, especially as we are never quite sure where the main characters' loyalty lies. I do like that guessing game.
The joy of the story has to be Casper, the cat, who, in true feline fashion, willingly or unwillingly, gets himself into far deeper hot and cold water than a cat should. I doubt he'll be going outdoors anytime soon after what he gets goes through.
We have come to expect mouth-watering cakey creations, and this adventure is no exception. They are used to very clever effect throughout the story. I'll be wary next time I'm confronted with a sizeable multi-tier cake, I can tell you.
If I was to add anything to this story, it would be scratch-and-sniff cards to give the smell of the cakes......
So, Crunch time.
This is an excellent sequel. A super stylish, atmospheric period adventure, beautifully placed inside the Palace of Versailles and its snow and ice-covered grounds, that takes Alice to dizzying, heartstopping new heights and far greater peril.
Want to buy a copy?
To get a copy, please sail or saunter down to your local independent bookshop. Of course, a feline on the shoulders is optional. There are plenty out there (both book shops and cats), and each shop is just waiting to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.
Sarah Todd Taylor's WEB page can be found HERE or type this: https://sarahtoddtaylor.com/
Nosy Crow's web page can be found HERE. or type this: https://nosycrow.com/product/alice-eclair-spy-extraordinaire-a-sprinkling-of-danger/
Beatriz Castro's web page can be found HERE. or type this: https://beatrizcastroilustracion.com/
After all that reviewing, I shall leave you with a selfie of little old feline me. 🙂 🙂
We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kittes Blue and their mum, Janet Blue.
This is me and Logi the mouse settling in for a nap together . . . Mrs H thinks I'm dreaming of cake. Me, I think it may have been cake covered in soft icing with layers of cream, and just a sprinkling of danger(ous marzipan mice) on top.
Till laters!
ERin
