Raven Lucas – Aussie Reviews

Raven Lucas 3: Chinese Whispers by Christine Harris

A bullet smashes through the glass wall and splinters a hole in the desk above me. Death, in the shape of a small piece of metal, is looking for me.

I curl my arms protectively around my head.

The carpet is rough against my cheek.

Another bullet shatters glass.

Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, the noise stops.

It could be a trick. That gunman could still be out there. I imagine him squinting through a rifle sight, finger ready to pull the trigger.

Who is he?

I’m nobody. Just a fourteen-year-old girl who likes running and photography and who thinks Justin Bieber sounds like a girl.

Cold air blows in through the smashed glass wall of the office.

Twenty-one storeys is a long way off the ground. The fall doesn’t actually kill you. It’s the speed of the stop.

<a href=”http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=271&id=9781862919297&affiliate_banner_id=1″ target=”_blank”>Chinese Whispers</a> is the third and apparently final instalment of the Raven Lucas trilogy. In this instalment, Raven and her friends go to Malaysia to fill in for her father at the opening of a new resort complex. They are also in search of clues about the disappearance of Raven’s father. Raven hardly has time, or the emotional space, to appreciate the environment or culture. She’s trying to find her father. She is convinced he is alive and not guilty of any of the crimes he’s suspected to have committed. Her challenge is to decide just who she can trust and who, close to her, is dangerous. She also has to escape the watchful eye of Rita, her chaperone. There are shadows, night-time visitors and adventures at sea before Raven can think about returning home.

Exotic settings, shadowy characters, twists and turns – <a href=”http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=271&id=9781862919297&affiliate_banner_id=1″ target=”_blank”>Chinese Whispers</a> is an action-packed thriller. Raven Lucas is a feisty character motivated by a deep belief in her father and a determination to discover what’s happened to him. She has to consider that she might not like what she finds – both in terms of what he’s been doing and whether or not he is still alive. She is resourceful, observant and quick-thinking. She is fortunate to be independently wealthy and therefore able to follow leads internationally. Her friends display disparate talents, and are resolute in their support of Raven, even when they’re not sure what’s she’s doing. Readers must make their own judgements about who to trust, just as Raven does. Fabulous to see a crime thriller trilogy amongst all the fantasy and spec fiction. Recommended for lower secondary readers.

Raven Lucas 3: <a href=”http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=271&id=9781862919297&affiliate_banner_id=1″ target=”_blank”>Chinese Whispers</a> Christine Harris Scholastic 2013 ISBN: 9781862919297

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or <a href=”http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=271&id=9781862919297&affiliate_banner_id=1″ target=”_blank”>online</a>.

Raven Lucas 1: Missing by Christine Harris

Raven’s heart jumped. She felt her face flame. Her eyes were glued to the felt hat and black coat worn by a man walking in the opposite direction. the footpath was crowded and Raven, standing still, was jostled in the seething flow of people rushing for trains or buses and the warmth of their homes.

Someone’s bag knocked her leg, snapping her out of her shocked paralysis. She stood on tip-toe, dodging left then right.

A hand grabbed her arm.

‘Raven Lucas 1: Missing ’ opens as Raven thinks she sees her father. Her father who just days ago vanished without a trace, without explanation. Her fragile mother is griefstricken, her father’s partner is too helpful, and her little brother is too young to be much help. There seem to be no clues, and plenty of rumours. Raven will not believe her father is dead, or that he’s done anything wrong. The more she investigates, the more confused she becomes. She discovers that she didn’t know her father as well as she thought she did. And she also realises that it may not be as easy as she thinks to know who to trust.

‘Raven Lucas 1: Missing ’ is the first instalment in a new mystery series from Christine Harris. Raven is a feisty, inquisitive, questioning main character. She’s also in pain, yearning for her loved father. Her world is spinning and nothing she once was sure of can now be relied on. Until now, she’s been secure in the wealth and support of her family and friends. But she now realises just how fragile that security has been, and how little she knows about her own family. She is far from helpless or hopeless, however, and determines to discover for herself just what’s going on. This is a fast-paced, action adventure with short chapters and mysteries around every corner. Recommended for upper-primary and lower-secondary readers.

Raven Lucas 1: Missing , Christine Harris

Omnibus Books 2012 ISBN: 9781862919341

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Avaialable from good bookstores or online .

Raven Lucas 2: Dead Wrong by Christine Harris

Raven felt her mum’s hand quivering in hers.

‘I can’t do it,’ whispered Mum. ‘I just … can’t.’ She had lost weight recently and it made her eyes look huge.

‘It’s okay,’ said Raven. ‘I don’t mind going. It’s doing something for Dad.’

Actually, she did mind. Not because she was standing in for Mum, but because Gerald Rooney, her dad’s business partner, had pressured them. Her stomach knotted at the idea of having to smile and talk to people she didn’t know.

As though nothing was wrong.

It was becoming harder to pretend that Dad was only running late. That he’d turn up any minute with a laughing apology. Since he had disappeared there was a huge silence in their lives. The music had gone. The colour. The breath.

Raven felt her mum’s hand quivering in hers.

‘I can’t do it,’ whispered Mum. ‘I just … can’t.’ She had lost weight recently and it made her eyes look huge.

‘It’s okay,’ said Raven. ‘I don’t mind going. It’s doing something for Dad.’

Actually, she did mind. Not because she was standing in for Mum, but because Gerald Rooney, her dad’s business partner, had pressured them. Her stomach knotted at the idea of having to smile and talk to people she didn’t know.

As though nothing was wrong.

Raven’s dad went missing in Raven Lucas 1. It was the worst thing to happen in Raven’s world. But things are getting worse. Many people are trying to find him, besides the police who think he is responsible for several crimes. And many of those people think Raven knows where he is. Raven’s mum is still unstable, her brother is too young to help and her father’s business partner seems to have taken it upon himself to act in loco parentis. Raven is running. Running to stay ahead of the game, running to stay ahead of people prepared to do almost anything to find out where her dad is. And if she’s going to beat them to it, she’s going to have to up her pace.

Dead Wrong continues the twisting and turning of the first novel in this series. Raven is wealthy and smart, sassy and inventive. Time alone will tell if this is going to be enough to find out what’s going on. But she refuses to believe the worst about her father, just because others say so. She firmly believes in her father, just as she slips into the role of protector of her remaining family. But it’s not always easy to be sure who to trust. She has supportive friends but she’s reluctant to bring them into her troubled world. In many ways, she is on her own. A riveting mystery thriller for mid- to upper secondary-readers. Watch out for the third and perhaps final instalment in the Raven Lucas series.

Dead Wrong (Raven Lucas), Christine Harris
Omnibus Books 2012
ISBN: 9781862919280

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Avaialble online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Raven Lucas 1: Missing by Christine Harris

Someone’s bag knocked her leg, snapping her out of her shocked paralysis. She stood on tip-toe, dodging left then right.

A hand grabbed her arm.

Missing opens as Raven thinks she sees her father. Her father who just days ago vanished without a trace, without explanation. Her fragile mother is griefstricken, her father’s partner is too helpful, and her little brother is too young to be much help. There seem to be no clues, and plenty of rumours. Raven will not believe her father is dead, or that he’s done anything wrong. The more she investigates, the more confused she becomes. She discovers that she didn’t know her father as well as she thought she did. And she also realises that it may not be as easy as she thinks to know who to trust.

Missing is the first instalment in a new mystery series from Christine Harris. Raven is a feisty, inquisitive, questioning main character. She’s also in pain, yearning for her loved father. Her world is spinning and nothing she once was sure of can now be relied on. Until now, she’s been secure in the wealth and support of her family and friends. But she now realises just how fragile that security has been, and how little she knows about her own family. She is far from helpless or hopeless, however, and determines to discover for herself just what’s going on. This is a fast-paced, action adventure with short chapters and mysteries around every corner. Recommended for upper-primary and lower-secondary readers.

Missing (Raven Lucas), Christine Harris
Omnibus Books 2012
ISBN: 9781862919341

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author