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Thank you Netgalley and A&A Press for the advance copy of Mystery in the Palace of Westminster by Sarah Lustig.
While I don’t read a lot of middle grade books. I do love a good mystery and the Mystery in the Palace of Westminster was the perfect mystery.
Theo Duncan is just an ordinary student. Except he also happens to be the son of the Prime Minister, Will Duncan.
When the parliamentary mace is stolen from inside the Houses of Parliament, Theo is determined to help his dad get it back. But he can’t do it alone. And when help is offered, there’s a problem. It comes from the new girl at school, Sammy Jhor, who’s a supporter of the opposition party.
Theo and Sammy form an unlikely team to spy on government officials, sneak through the corridors of Downing Street and pursue the thief through the Palace of Westminster.
But when the evidence points to suspects at the highest levels of government, finding the thief could threaten Will Duncan’s leadership.
Can Theo and Sammy put aside their differences to find the mace – and the thief – before the government is brought to its knees?
Theo Duncan was the perfect main character. I enjoyed watching him grow throughout the book and even stand up to his dad. I felt for Theo. Having your dad as the Prime Minister would be exceedingly difficult and he made it.
The supporting cast were also good. I really enjoyed Theo’s friendship with Sammy. I still didn’t get a complete feel for Theo’s sister. She always seemed mad, and I wasn’t sure if there was a reason or if she was a young teen girl that was grumpy. I would like that to be explored later.
I enjoyed reading about the Parliamentary process something that I was not familiar with (although in a few places it made the story a bit slow).
The mystery kept me guessing. There were a lot of suspects and while I thought I had figured out who did it a few times I was thrown by the other clues.
Overall, this is a perfect read for someone that loves mysteries young and old. If you are going to have your child read it, I would recommend someone over ten just because it might be too much for a younger child. I think my daughter would love this series when she gets a little older.
Have you read Mystery in the Palace of Westminster? Or any middle age books? If this sounds like something you would like to read, get your copy on May 26th.
The Spinny Bookworm Mama 