Gusty and her younger sister, Paula, perched high up in the large mulberry tree at the end of the lane. Well-hidden amongst the dense leaves, Gusty watched through her father’s binoculars as Skull, leader of the Black Commando motorcycle gang, kick-started his powerful Harley Davidson.
When Gusty and her siblings find a mistreated dog chained in the yard of some bikies, they decide they have to do something about it. But when they liberate the dog in a night time raid, they have little idea of the magnitude of the events they are becoming involved in.
Soon Gusty, Paula, their brother Sebastian and their friends Todd and Elizabeth, find themselves investigating a smuggling ring, and putting their lives on the line to rescue a mistreated monkey. But have they bitten off more than they can chew?
Monkey Undercover is an exciting new novel for younger readers from one of Australia’s leading writers of crime fiction for adults, Gabrielle Lord. Lord uses a mix of action, danger and humour, in a blend children aged 10 and over are likely to love.
Parents and teachers may wish to screen this one before reading – some of the things the children get up to in order to solve a crime are a little worrying from a parental viewpoint – but, of course, good triumphs in the end and the baddies are brought to justice.
An exciting read.
Monkey Undercover, by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic Australia, 2006