The London Eye Mystery (2007)

My VOYA: 3Q, 3P
Logical, weather-obsessed Ted puts his unusual mind to work figuring out just how his cousin Salim vanished from the top of the London Eye.

Ted has Asperger's syndrome (though never directly identified as such in the text, it's fairly obvious) and like his counterpart from
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
, he puts his unique, high-functioning brain to work on solving a mystery - this one his cousin's frightening disappearance.

Ted usually has his eyes on the clouds: his syndrome keeps him from empathizing with the people around him, though it doesn't keep him from making keen observations about the way things work. There is a certain tone of detachment that is almost unavoidable with autistic narrators, and it can undercut the emotional weight of a story like this. His connection to his sister Kat didn't quite work for me, and the rest of the adult characters spend large chunks of time ignoring him or telling him to be quiet.

Still, it's a well-constructed mystery with all the clues laid out for the reader to see along with Kat and Ted. It's The Curious Incident for younger readers, though it is not always successful in its depiction of Ted's unusual ways of thinking and feeling.

4Q, 3P. It was interesting to compare this with my booktalk book, "Where Things Come Back": both novels are about a boy who vanishes under mysterious circumstances, and the effect this has on the protagonist and his family. In "Where Things Come Back", the focus was on the emotional effects of the disappearance, with the family's actual efforts to find the boy being mostly grabbing at straws; in "The London Eye Mystery", Ted and Kat take an active role in solving the mystery. Which one you prefer, of course, depends on what sort of story you're looking for, but I happen to like the second. Ted, with his "differently wired brain", was an engaging character that borderline aspie types like me can relate to, and it was really fun to step into his head.

The mystery was clever and satisfying, and plays fair by including plenty of clues that a sharp enough reader could figure out, without being too obvious about it. I didn't suss it out before the explanation, but once I read the solution it was fun to go back and look over the setup in light of what I knew now. Definitely recommended for anyone who enjoys a good mystery! ( )

Q3 P3. I like mysteries and the London Eye Mystery is just that. It was a fun and quick read with sluethy, quirky, and enjoyable characters. Ted and Kat lead us on a wild goose chase to find their missing cousin Salim, whose disappearance simply couldn't have been spontaneous combustion, although Ted is uncomfortable ruling that out. The solution works, although it's not all that exciting and the book falls off hard once we know it. The leaps of faith and the 'unique operating system' that is Ted's brain seem standard for this genre, but play into the same stereotypes that stories (both on TV and in print) with protagonists that have Aspergers regularly utilize, failing to build the character in a deeper fashion. Unfortunately Dowd was unable to get past that in The London Eye Mystery.

4Q, 4P It was fascinating to read a story from the perspective of an autistic narrator, Ted. The details of precise times and numbers that Ted notices while struggling to understand metaphors is enlightening in reminding readers that not everyone thinks the same way, regardless of whether or not they have a diagnosis. I refuse to say disability because a diagnosis does not have to be disabling. This story can also be enjoyed by a wide range of readers. It is fast paced, autisim is well known if not familiar, and London/the London Eye are also well known even for people who have never visited.

3Q 3P
Meteorology obsessed Ted struggles to navigate a world of emotions and social norms that his Asperger syndrome prevents him from fully understanding. But when his cousin Salim disappears during a ride on the London Eye he sets out to solve the mystery.
This is a light and quick read that doesn't really delve too deeply into serious issues. Ted has the makings of an interesting protagonist but his narrative doesn't feel authentic or genuine. This novel pales in comparison to other exemplary works such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. ( )