The Elemental Detectives: the first book in a cracking adventure series

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Her writing has won awards including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Older Children and The Bookseller YA Book Prize. It beggars belief that there are so many rich people with no one to miss – and this gaping plot hole often took me out of the story when it was mentioned.

But humans have been causing chaos for centuries, trampling through the landscape trailing noise, mess and pollution. a genuinely creepy villain in the form of a rusty-round the-edges Bo Peep (steel yourself for her lullaby earworm); Turnbell-of-Turnbill-Brook performed by a woman in breeches and waistcoat. The characters were a compelling duo to carry the book – Marisee as the optimist and Robert as the jaded one. Robert and Marisee were great main characters, and their journey trying to wake London from a Sleeping Beauty-esque curse by finding her missing Grandma was compelling. The sleeping sickness affects poor people because they yearn for so much, yet rich people are not susceptible because they don’t face such struggles.The different layers of history uncovered in this book are expertly handled and encourage the reader to think about what may have happened in an alternative universe or sphere if describing different causes for well-known historical events (such as the Great Fire of London). Step into a London lit up by the Elemental spirits: the fiery Dragons, the airy Fumis, the watery Chads and the earthbound Magogs. Instead, it just seems to be the real Georgian London… only with a bunch of spirits lurking around corners.

I didn't think I'd ever relive the first read experience of series like Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising, atmospheric, creepy, wonderful, and this book took me to a place I didn't think was possible as an adult reader. Marisee and Robert are the Elemental Detectives chasing the clues to avoid catastrophe: they must face the ghosts of Hyde Park, the monstrous coiled snake of the Serpentine, and a whole host of other fantastical creatures in their mission to stop the Shepherdess and prevent London slumbering for all eternity… Big, bold, future classic storytelling for a new generation. A stunningly imagined, action-packed fantasy adventure for fans of Nevermoor, Neverwhere and Mortal Engines, from bestselling and award-winning author Patrice Lawrence. Really good portrayal of 18th century London; a real grasp of the limitations of class, race and gender; brilliant use of the elemental/river stories; and an adventure which took us round the city.p. 3-4) This is what I’d like to see more of – if there are elemental spirits, they probably interacted with human history!

The fantasy worldbuilding of this is wonderful; I love elemental magic and meeting the versions of that in this book as they’re all very distinctive, and I hope we learn more about the groups we didn’t see so much of in this installment which was largely focused on the water element Chads. Mortality was a problem not exclusive to the poor in the 1700s – disease, war, and childbirth were all to perilous even for the moneyed classes. This book is a must read (or listen, I loved the audio book) and I'll be working my way through the author's cataloogue.Author of the well-loved YA novel Eight Pieces of Silva (2021, Hachette) and Children’s and YA Jhalak Prize winner Patrice Lawrence offers readers a new, middle grade fiction series published by Scholastic UK– The Elemental Detectives. The Elementals, however, have become increasingly displeased from the years of pollution and lack of care from the ‘Solids’ (humans who live in this world). I'm disappointed, because a magical story set in historical London should have been right up my street. The world-building was a good idea – Georgian London, but with a whole host of elemental spirits filling the city.

It explores themes of social injustice, such as slavery and poverty, with a clear eye, while the character twists and turns will keep the reader hooked.And, finally our heroes: Marisse and Robert, the latter based on the real life 18th century teenager, Jonathan Strong, a significant name in UK Black History which should be shouted much louder. A London where magic sparks just beneath the surface – this book is set to ignite young imaginations. Marisee and her Grandma are the only ones who really know about the Elementals, and she acts as a “chosen one” bridge between the two worlds.