Customer Reviews
Courtesy of Teens Read Too - By: TeensReadToo.com, 04 Mar 2008 
Good young adult & middle grade mysteries are sometimes hard to come by. THE LONDON EYE MYSTERY by Siobhan Dowd is one you won't want to miss.
It alll starts when Ted's cousin, Salim, comes to visit. Salim & his mother are about to move to New York City & have planned a family visit in London before their departure. Of course, what is a visit to London without a ride on the London Eye? That's when the trouble begins.
Ted & his older sister, Kat, haven't seen much of their cousin in the past. The visit starts out on a wrong note because of the unusual sleeping arrangements required by their tiny house. Kat is unhappy about bunking on the couch, & Ted is unhappy with the disruption of his whole routine. As Ted explains, he suffers from a "syndrome," which he defines by stating that his brain runs on "a different operating system" than everyone else. His judgment of other people's emotional responses is a bit off, & his views of the world around him tend to be quite literal. (I'm guessing that he suffers from some form of autism.)
Salim turns out to be quite a pleasant visitor. His only request is to take a ride on the London Eye, a massive ferris wheel attraction in the center of London. When the cousins & their mothers arrive at the Eye, they find the ticket line & actual ride line disappointingly long. Relief comes when a stranger offers one ticket, free of charge, to Salim. Ted & Kat eagerly accept the ticket & pocket the original ticket money from their mother as they rush Salim to the waiting ride.
The mystery begins when Salim doesn't disembark from the London Eye at the conclusion of his ride. Ted & Kat have as many as nine different theories. Was he kidnapped? Did he actuallly go on the ride at alll? How could he have vanished so completely?
Quirky characters, London scenery, & a who-dun-it style combine to make this a sure hit. The late Siobhan Dowd, author of A SWIFT PURE CRY, outdid herself once again.
Reviewed by: Sallly Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
An excellent read! - By: James Haynes, 15 Aug 2007 I thought this was an excellent idea for a story. The London Eye is the venue chosen for a very mysterious disappearance. Nevermind what the weather is Ted & Kat brave raining cats & dogs to solve the mystery of Salim's disappearance. They travel around London with a list of Ted's theories whilst the grown ups & police brave the tempestuous Aunt Gloria. This book will make you laugh while at the same time make you bite your nails as the story keeps you in suspense throughout. It is a real page turner & adults will enjoy it as well. I think this will appeal to tourists visiting London who want to improve their English as it is well writtenn & easy to read.
I hope there is a follow up! - By: Sophie Price, 15 Aug 2007 I thoroughly enjoyed reading this unusual book by Siobhan Dowd. It reallly cheered me up as it was very witty & I am eager to go on the London Eye again. I reallly think Ted is an unusual character & he made me laugh in this story. His obsession with the weather is interesting & he makes the shipping forecast sound interesting. Kat is obsessed with fashion & teases her younger brother, Ted. The mystery is well written & full of suspense. I tried to work out what happened to Salim but had to keep reading. I liked Aunt Gloria too! I have an aunt just like her & I expect most people have too. I hope that there is a a follow up to this excellent novel.
Oh Dear! - By: snow white, 15 Aug 2007 
I eagerly awaited for this book from the author of 'A Swift Pure Cry' which I reallly loved. I even recommended it to a few of my friends. I started this book & it's got a fantastic storyline to it. The solution is brilliant. The reason I've only given it 3 stars is because I got bored reading the same dialogue. ie 'a bad feeling went up my oesophogus' or Tom 'had a face like a duck forgetting to quack'. If I read it once I read the same phrases about 12 times throughout the book. It hasn't put me off reading anything else by her in the future, as the previous book had fantastic dialogue, & hope this was an oversight.
Page turner for boys aged 9 and 7 - By: Joan Keating, 02 Aug 2007 
I've read some newspaper reviews of this book which suggest it to be sub Mark Haddon. Well it is about a boy with Aspergers solving a crime & does a very convincing job of describing the inner life of such a boy. And it is a life enhancing description of someone overcoming things that limit them in the way that they are living their life. But it would be wrong to describe it as a kind of Mark Haddon lite. It's a very different book in that it is geared to a much younger audience. My boys got a great deal out of this - a perception of difference & how it is not necessarily a bad thing. An insight into other children's experiences of being unhappy & isolated at school. And a sense of the excitement of a real page turner. We started off reading two short chapters each night but quickly got into reading four at night & often four in the morning too (the bliss of the summer holidays). Highly recommended.
