Katie Milk Solves Crimes and so on…

Post-Potter, the boarding school story continues to make a return to our shelves. Katie Milk, the girl who inherits a place at a convent school, provides an entertaining and down-to-earth narrative guide to the experience. She enters a whole new world with its own mysteries, and these provide rich pickings for Katie, the young detective.

There is a crime plot to the story, and it does have a clever twist in the tail, but this book thrives on the dynamics of the friendships and falling out between the girls who are central to the story. A common and vital ingredient in these relationships is the memorable characters Caulfield has created. Chiquita the mystery girl and Danielle the villain are interesting characters, and the cast is led by the utterly likeable Katie Milk, whose narrative voice is finely attuned to the way real children actually speak. Her clash of class and culture at the new school will appeal to children who are fascinated by boarding school.

The cover tells us this book is the first adventure in a series. May many others follow.