A Girl's Guide to Spying

About this book

When fourteen-year-old Phyl and her young sister Annie join the Girl Guides in 1915, their activities aren’t seen as ladylike. But the girls enjoy tying knots, playing memory games and learning Morse Code. Then Phyl is recruited by MO5, part of the War Office and pre-cursor to MI5, to run errands and pass on messages. She’s delighted to be helping the war effort, even if the Guides are supposed to exist quietly in the background. But when one of the officers goes missing, Phyl begins an investigation of her own - and uncovers a secret spy! In a London overshadowed by night-time Zeppelin raids and daily news of dreadful casualties from the front, can one young Guide make a difference to the tide of the war? 

This is a ripping yarn where sensible, clever Girl Guides are under-estimated by most of the adults around them. Plus it's based on fascinating fact - MO5 did recruit Guides to work in their offices. Phyl is clever and brave, in the vein of all plucky investigators, and yet someone whom many readers will find relatable. The First World War background adds urgency to Phyl's mission, and various historical details are cleverly brought to life and made personal. For instance, a mob attacks a shop owned by their kind German neighbours. The first in a series of thrilling historical mysteries.  

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