This is a very sweet story and at the same time a bit heartbreaking. I really enjoyed this one and think it would make a great bookgroup read. The writing is very good and the story wonderful.

Kate Meaney, a little 10 year old girl, only wants to be a detective. She and her little stuffed monkey in spats go on "surveillance" missions, practicing the art of detection. She takes notes and has no problem staying in one spot watching someone for hours. Then one day, she disappears literally into thin air. That was in 1984. This story is the backdrop for the rest of the book, which takes place in modern times. As a disaffected security guard watches the monitor screen in a mall where he works, he sees a little girl sitting all alone, holding a stuffed monkey. When he looks up again, she is gone.

There is also a great characterization of modern consumer society woven throughout the story that you can't fail to notice. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys something refreshingly different and wants to read some very good writing. ( )

The story that involves a murder, a suicide and abuse and it tells of the lives of individuals involved or affected but the incidents, which all sounds a bit serious. But it's not, there's a great lightness and humour that runs through the book. A good read. ( )

Truly excellent so far. Compulsively readable, kinda rare in a novel of this caliber. Easy to identify with first Kate then Lisa. I had to go to the internet to find pictures of shopping centers in Birmingham, England. Even fiction needs pictures sometimes. ( )

There was a sadness and a sense of loss that permeated this story.

Even when her father was alive, Kate was such a lonely child, absorbed in a fantasy life that was encouraged by her father. I so felt the loss of a mother and a childhood playing with friends. Kate took her How to be a Detective book so literally and made leaps in her mind as to the explanations for ordinary situations during her surveillance of them in her local shopping centre.

The shopping Centre was central to the whole book. They are surreal places and its portrayal seemed disturbingly accurate. It was made even more so by glimpses into what goes on behind the consumer facade with the staff corridors and service areas etc and the loss of community that came about through it's development.

I thought that the characters working in the shopping centre with their own losses and secrets gave an even greater poignancy to the story..

There was more than a nod to it being an social observation and sometimes sharp humour sneaked in. ( )

The best part of this book is the subtle criticism of consumer culture, and O`Flynn`s great writing. The ending was a little disturbing, but satisfying. Overall, I definately recommend it! ( )