Trapped

This is the first in a projected series whose 16-year-old central character is feisty, well-travelled and engaging, calm and resourceful in tricky situations – a female Alex Rider. After being offered a summer job on board a supermodel’s yacht in the south of France she finds that this world of glamour and opulence is corrupted by the smuggling of rare animals from around the world. When she becomes involved in the search for the perpetrators of the crime she finds herself thrown into a maelstrom of excitement and danger from which she is lucky to emerge with her life.

This is fast-paced, carefully constructed escapism which feeds in environmental concerns and a look at a wider world which readers may not have seen. Its careful mix of ingredients will appeal to a wide audience who like their fiction fast and furious but driven by a central character who has a heart.