Touching and cleverly crafted, how the two stories from different times are linked though a picture is ingenious and wholly absorbing. When Mallie buys an old picture at a junk shop for her mother’s birthday, she has no idea that it will bring together the lives of her grandmother and the crabby old pet shop owner. It is a mystery that takes some unravelling – one of evacuees in the Second World War and one set in the present day. Both stories are full of interest and their resolution is most satisfying. Mixing the period appeal of Michelle Magorian's books with the contemporary drama of Cathy Cassidy this is an absorbing mystery story straddling three generations from WWII Lake District to present-day London. It's a terrific adventure and mystery that begins to unfold with each turn of the page with well drawn characters who kids of 9+ can relate to. Great read.
What is the secret of Mallie's picture? The mystery unfolds as evacuees Tony and Alice escape the terrors of London's Blitz for the Lake District, where they befriend a fascinating and fearless old lady. Many years later, an after-school job in a pet shop enables well-meaning Mallie to buy her mum a drawing of a girl with a rabbit. Could this old picture bring past and present together - and change Mallie's life?
The Irish World Book Day Author 2014 Mary Arrigan studied at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, University College, Dublin and Florence University. She taught art for 18 years before starting to write for children. She was awarded the International Youth Library (Munich) White Ravens title in 1997, the Bisto Merit Award in 2000 and has also won The Sunday Times Crime Writers Association Short Story Award and The Hennessy Short Story Award.
