Lie Detectives

Attempts on the lives of inventor Darious Marriott and their friend Toby, aka Bullet bring to the fore the investigative powers of Ricky, Angela and Theo in a thriller which at times pushes hard on the reader's suspension of disbelief. This is not, however, my main caveat about Lie Detectives. It is that the core of the plot is formed by a number of attempted murders which only narrowly fail. Death is not necessarily a subject to be avoided in books for children. There are a number of titles which deal sensitively with death and with the dark side of human nature which may propel someone towards taking the life of another. The question which exercises me is whether murder, attempted or otherwise, should be treated so lightly in what is obviously intended to be a fast paced mystery story with a possible appeal to reluctant readers. This is a long way from the days when the Five Findouters outwitted the village policeman and caught the baddies stealing jewels from the local manor house, and it is undoubtedly more in tune with much of what young people see and hear in the media. Even so, murder is a serious topic.