Tag the Twitchers

Feather

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Feather
M. G. Leonard
Walker Books

This is the fourth and final book in what has been an absolutely brilliant series, a series that celebrates friendship, bird watching and the natural world. Herein the Twitchers find themselves
on the trail of a gang of ruthless rare artefact thieves as well as protecting somebody who may have been involved in the crime.

The story begins when Ava is on an end of term class visit to the Swan natural history museum. An alarm sounds and hearing a rustling, she delays leaving and by chance is present when, what turns out to be a daring and well-executed robbery of rare, vintage bird ‘skins’ takes place. Who would want such things – a fashion designer perhaps?

Once outside the museum she encounters an unusual girl with a pet raven waiting at the bus stop opposite. Does she know anything, Ava wonders. With the school trip suddenly curtailed, and a possible clue in her bag, rather than going back home early, she messages her friends and she decides to head off to Briddvale and seek the help of the other Twitchers. Needless to say, the Twitchers are immediately onto this, especially as it involves rare avian specimens of historical importance.

Ava takes the lead in this adventure and some of her actions are exceedingly risky, especially as she is soon as anxious to help Rae (the bus stop girl), who is clearly in need, as she is to get to the bottom of the feather heist, though the two strands are intertwined.

M. G. Leonard includes an amazing amount of detail about bird species and the history of scientists such as Wallace and Darwin; and she clearly respects her audience showing rather than telling lots of the story. Inspired by a true crime, this tension-filled mystery is a superb conclusion to the seasonal quartet and perfect for deep thinking nature-loving readers.

Clutch / Dragon Storm: Connor and Lightspirit

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These are additions to two exciting series:thanks to Walker Books and Nosy Crow for sending them for review

Clutch
M.G. Leonard
Walker Books

This is the third story of the Twitchers and for me it’s even better than the previous two.

Twitch and Jack are alarmed to hear that somebody has been stealing eggs from the nest of a peregrine falcon in Aves Wood. As the Easter holidays start, all the Twitchers come together for the first time in a while and are determined to solve the mystery of the missing eggs before the thief strikes again.

In the knowledge that the thief’s actions are both against the law and immoral, the gang set off to find clues and learn what they can about any possible suspects. With the police involved Passerine Pike is now a crime scene, but is the criminal a local or somebody from outside come to participate in the Canal Masters fishing competition? With the competition only lasting a few days and a pair of Spoonbills nesting on the edge of the pond in the locality, time is of the essence in catching the thief.

However, suddenly Twitch receives a visit from the police and learns that he fits the suspect profile and evidence places him at the crime scene. Now it’s not only the nesting birds but Twitch in need of saving and the evidence against him seems to be mounting.
With several red herrings and wrong turns, the friends finally succeed in their mission: all ends well for Twitch, the real crooks are unmasked and there’s a new member of the Twitchers too.

With its superb mix of mystery, crime and environmental issues, this is another cracker for established fans of the series but others new to the Twitchers will quickly find themselves engrossed too. Whither next for these conservationists? I can’t wait to find out.

Dragon Storm: Connor and Lightspirit
Alastair Chisholm, illustrated by Eric Deschamps
Nosy Crow

This is the seventh of the author’s Dragon Storm series for younger readers and what a gripping tale it is. Relatively new to life in the Dragonseer’s Guild, Connor and the other children are told by vice-chancellor Creedy of a code that needs solving. But how trustworthy is Creedy? Connor thinks he’s OK but not all the others agree. The boy sets about cracking the code, which he does, helped by a clue about some of the symbols from Cara.

However the more involved he gets with Creedy, the more troubled Connor is by doubts that he’s doing the right thing by helping him, especially when under cover of darkness Creedy leads him to the Royal Palace. Moreover, Lightspirit is far from happy about what is happening: the truth is what matters to this dragon. Is King Godfic up to no good, or is it his son, or somebody else?
The Dragon Storm grows ever closer but can trust and truth save Draconis from a horrific war?

The story, with its atmospheric black and white illustrations by Eric Deschamps, ends on a real-cliffhanger leaving readers eager to discover what it is that Connor knows.