Harvey Angell

Review also includes:

Harvey Angell Beats Time, 160pp, 978-0099451051

Henry lives a dullish life with a mean aunt who runs a boarding house for lodgers who are not allowed to be too tall, fat, talkative or cheerful. Into this world, and totally unexpectedly, steps Harvey Angell with his five hundred kilowatt beam. His job, so he says, is to research energy fields and work with connections. But what sort of connections? Through his charm as well as through one or two unusual gadgets, he is able to bring about changes for the better for all the characters with whom he comes into contact. In Harvey Angell Beats Time, Harvey and his friends set about returning a child from the twenty-third century to her rightful mother. It is not as easy as it seems, and Hendry’s observations of people and their quirks are sharp and not without humour. Elements of suspense occur in both books and certainly keep one turning the pages right up to the end; the Waifs and Strays Cafe and the hollyhocks were particular delights. I finished the books actively wanting to read more by Hendry; I would warmly recommend the books both for reading alone or to others. Shame about the off-putting jacket illustrations. (Also available – Harvey Angell and the Ghost Child, 0 09 945103 4, £4.99.)