The Elemental Detectives: the first book in a cracking adventure series

Product Information

There was a line early on about how the dragons “were not forgiven for the unfortunate incident of 1666. Marisee and Robert are the Elemental Detectives chasing the clues to avoid catastrophe: they must face the ghosts of Hyde Park, the monstrous coiled snake of the Serpentine, and a whole host of other fantastical creatures in their mission to stop the Shepherdess and prevent London slumbering for all eternity… Big, bold, future classic storytelling for a new generation. p. 3-4) This is what I’d like to see more of – if there are elemental spirits, they probably interacted with human history! I think this book could have used some more rounds of edits for clarity and precision — it was confusing where characters were and how they got there sometimes. This book is a must read (or listen, I loved the audio book) and I'll be working my way through the author's cataloogue.

Really good portrayal of 18th century London; a real grasp of the limitations of class, race and gender; brilliant use of the elemental/river stories; and an adventure which took us round the city. Instead, it just seems to be the real Georgian London… only with a bunch of spirits lurking around corners.When Zahra accidentally swaps suitcases with a witch, she experiences a weekend of magical surprises, helping her to overcome her fears and form new friendships. One of those books that you can’t put down and need to know the end, but at the same time, you don’t want to finish it too soon. As with her other books, Lawrence has created caring, sensitive and self-aware protagonists of colour in the Elemental Detectives. However, most of the dreaming is about dead loved ones the dreamers miss, and this is where that constructions falls apart.

There's a promising book hidden in here somewhere, but there are so many characters and plot points and places all thrown at you in the space of just a few pages that the story feels cluttered. I didn't think I'd ever relive the first read experience of series like Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising, atmospheric, creepy, wonderful, and this book took me to a place I didn't think was possible as an adult reader. And then, there are, of course the Elemental spirits who co-exist with the human population: the earthy-clay Magogs, watery Chads, fiery Dragons and airy Fumi. A stunningly imagined, action-packed fantasy adventure for fans of Nevermoor, Neverwhere and Mortal Engines, from bestselling and award-winning author Patrice Lawrence.The system is a bit confusing at first, and the names of each elemental we’re introduced to were not easy to remember. Overall this is a really interesting and deep MG read, and I think it deserves more hype than it got! Set within the ancient streets of London, the world that Lawrence has created is one which is ruled by the Elemental spirits – the Dragons (fire), the Fumis (air), the Chads (water) and the Magogs (earth).

When he helps Marisee escape some attacking sleepers, he discovers a world of Elemental spirits, serpents in the Serpentine and ghosts in Hyde Park.Patrice Lawrence continues to champion the voices of British authors and illustrators of colour through her work with schools. This beautifully written story is set in an ancient London filled with dragons, ghosts and water spirits – it is absolutely bursting with magic, bound to enchant fans of books such as Nevermore and Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines series. The magic system was super fascinating — your typical four Elementals (air, earth, fire, and water) embodied by different features of London’s atmosphere, subtly changing human (or “Solid”) history under the noses of most. Indigo Donut was shortlisted for the Bookseller YA Prize and the Carnegie Award, was Book of the Week in The Times, The Sunday Times and The Observer, and was one of The Times’ top children’s books in 2017. This one is a bit baffling: there are two names used in this book that are the names of real historical characters, but they aren't those characters.