Dawn Undercover
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| Anna Dale |
| Bloomsbury |
| 1904442714 |
| Oct 2005 |
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| With a fondness for beige cardigans, Dawn Buckle is often ignored. Which makes her the perfect candidate to join the top-secret organisation S. H. H. (Strictly Hush-Hush) to work as a spy for their Pursuit of Scheming Spies and Traitors department (P.S.S.T.). Her mission takes her to the sleepy village of Cherry Bentley, in search of the notorious criminal Murdo Meek.
Off-beat gags and quirky characters set the tone; light and humourous. Dawn’s knitted donkey Clop, for example, is “made of stern stuff (as well as wool and snipped-up stockings)”. Fans of James Bond will find this an altogether gentler kind of spy story. The gadgets are less hi-tech and the villains less threatening. A finger nibbling tortoise is about as violent as it gets. Plenty of friendly details (think tea from china cups, ginger nuts and jumbo crosswords) create a warmly welcoming world. The story skips along at a carefree bumbling sort of pace, which may prove too scenic for some readers. There are numerous clues to puzzle over, yet the ending is still unexpected enough to satisfy.
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