Agent Zaiba Investigates: The Smuggler’s Secret

Young Zaiba is a talented detective and has already solved several cases, with the help of her loyal friends Poppy and Ali. When she sets off to Chesil Bay on a school trip, she is faced with another mystery. A valuable artefact has gone missing from a shipwreck’s salvage, and anyone could be the thief!

This is a classic adventure with a very up-to-date attitude, which children will love for all the same reasons their parents loved the Famous Five and Nancy Drew, but which also provides positive role models and a realistic picture of today’s society. It covers colonialism and the question of where artefacts should belong and be kept, as well as positive examples of step-families and same-sex relationships. All of this is done within an exciting adventure that keeps the reader guessing along the way. This would be a great choice for readers who also like the Murder Most Unladylike series, and classic detective adventures of all kinds.