The Mystery of Smugglers Cove

As an Enid Blyton fan, I love this idea. The concept of a group of children living adventures and solving mysteries during a more innocent time, before the internet and smartphones, is sound. There's no reason why there shouldn't be more books of this kind.

Having said that, what Enid Blyton does may seem simple, but it's not easy. That's the reason she was so successful and her books are still in print after so many decades. Paul Moxham does some good things to recover the spirit of Blyton's work, but he falls short in some ways.

His main characters are too generic. If you look at Enid Blyton's best series, they have some memorable characters. She is no Dostoevsky, but her characters are clearly defined. You know who they are, and how show more they are likely to react. They have a group dynamic that makes sense because each of them plays a defined role. When you read one of her books, it's like meeting old friends again, because you feel you know those characters. You know what makes them tick. Here, I couldn't tell you in what ways Will and Joe's personalities differ. They are just generic heroic children who do heroic things. They don't have any kind of friction among themselves.

The story is fast paced. Very fast paced. Frantic. Dangerous things are happening all the time. Fast. Some readers will love that. Personally, I really appreciate the quiet moments in Enid Blyton's books. Before the adventure begins, we get a lot of flavor, building the setting and giving us nice character moments. Then, when the adventure begins, I appreciate it more because of the contrast with the quiet parts. Here, it's so fast that it kind of overwhelms you. At least that's me; your mileage may vary.

One thing that I did not like is that the children were not just daring. They were completely reckless. They searched the bad guys' house several times. With the bad guys inside. They risked drowning and several kind of death with no instinct of self-preservation. That made it difficult for me to suspend disbelief.

On the other hand, we have caves, tunnels, smugglers, exploration, escapes, overheard conversations, captures... how can my inner child not enjoy that? Unlike in the much older Enid Blyton's books, where the boys tend to have the most dangerous parts, here the girls have their fair share of heroic moments. Even though they are set in the 50s it's noticeable that they have been written with more modern sensitivities. show less

It is wonderful to be once more able to read a good old-fashioned rollicking kids adventure story. Back in the 1950s, early 60s, kids had no electronic devices to entertain them, they made their own fun and often that meant entering a world of make-believe. Back then my friends and I would play for hours – cowboys and Indians (I was always the Indian and tied to a tree), cops and robbers (I was always the robber and tied to a tree), English soldiers and German soldiers (I was always the German and tied to a tree) – yes there IS a theme there! Kids back then could roam around all day and not have their parents go into melt down, and boy did we have fun. THE MYSTERY OF SMUGGLERS COVE brought back these memories. Picnics, long walks show more exploring every nook and cranny, and spying on big houses in case there were baddies doing bad things! A fast paced plot involving counterfeiters, smugglers, dark caves complete with a twist at the end. There were storms, fog and high tides. Lots of action and the e-pages were flicked non-stop as I raced to see what happened next – who was in danger – who was being rescued and would those nasty German shepherd’s really rip the children limb from limb? The only complaint I had was when the kids sat down for dinner and their mother gave them a lovely veggie burger – no way this would have happened then – fizzy drinks, bread and ham maybe but not a veggie burger!! (NB - the author contacted me to say he has updated this part of the book and the Veggie has gone - so if you download the book now - and I recommend you do - there will be a different dish) show less

3 1/2 stars. This was a fun adventure for kids, set in an Enid Blytonesque world. It has the elements you would expect in a story of this genre, absent parents, kids outwitting the adults, suspense and a mystery to solve. There were a number of coincidences that for an adult were hard to believe, but these shouldn’t bother kids. And there were a surprising number of people who fell over and hurt their ankles. It was a rather overused plot device.
I enjoyed reading this and look forward to further instalments.

Bit simplistic for my own tastes but will no doubt be a hit with young children who enjoy a bit of mystery and adventure. Reminds me a bit of The Three Investigators series or Teen Power Inc - inspires a nostalgic feeling of old school mysteries. And maybe a bit of Scooby Doo with the stereotypical bad guy. The four main characters fall into an easy friendship although I found the first meeting with Will to be kind of awkward. But it establishes the friendship and this allows the plot to move on at a fast clip.

And this is probably irrelevant for most readers but as an adult I have to say Joe not leaving a note really irritated me. It was so dumb. I know, it's fiction but ARGH! If you're going to look for danger - at least let someone show more know where you are. Of course the mother then sending her eight and ten year olds to look for him is also ridiculous but I get that it's aiming for a historical vibe. And to be fair, the kids aren't idiots. They have some practical and creative ideas to deal with their problems.

The mystery was pretty straightforward, bit of a comedy of errors though. There's lots of hiding running and falling. But it's all wrapped up nicely with no loose ends or lingering questions, so all round a satisfying read.

3 stars. show less

When the synopsis compared the book to The Bobsey Twins, I felt a bit of trepidation. I found those books endlessly boring as a kid. Happily, The Mystery of Smugglers Cove was much faster moving than the Bobsey Twins. Although, it was every bit as clean and innocent as some of those favorite series from "way back when," it was faster paced, without all the added explanation of every thought in every child's head like back then. I "forced" my 11 year old son to read it with me. He complained till about the 6th chapter, when his tune changed at the end of the day's reading from, "Ok. Now my book," to, "No, you can't stop there! Keep going!" We ended up reading the last 15 chapters in one sitting because there was no "safe" stopping spot show more (something might happen while we're gone!). When I told him there was a sequel, his response was, "Can we get it NOW?"

I'm hooked and will be looking for more works from Mr. Moxham in the future! show less

It is wonderful to be once more able to read a good old-fashioned rollicking kids adventure story. Back in the 1950s, early 60s, kids had no electronic devices to entertain them, they made their own fun and often that meant entering a world of make-believe. Back then my friends and I would play for hours – cowboys and Indians (I was always the Indian and tied to a tree), cops and robbers (I was always the robber and tied to a tree), English soldiers and German soldiers (I was always the German and tied to a tree) – yes there IS a theme there! Kids back then could roam around all day and not have their parents go into melt down, and boy did we have fun. THE MYSTERY OF SMUGGLERS COVE brought back these memories. Picnics, long walks show more exploring every nook and cranny, and spying on big houses in case there were baddies doing bad things! A fast paced plot involving counterfeiters, smugglers, dark caves complete with a twist at the end. There were storms, fog and high tides. Lots of action and the e-pages were flicked non-stop as I raced to see what happened next – who was in danger – who was being rescued and would those nasty German shepherd’s really rip the children limb from limb? The only complaint I had was when the kids sat down for dinner and their mother gave them a lovely veggie burger – no way this would have happened then – fizzy drinks, bread and ham maybe but not a veggie burger!! (NB - as this is an e-book the author has contacted me to say the Veggie Burger has gone!!!!)

I snagged this copy of THE MYSTERY OF SMUGGLERS COVE from Member Giveaways at Librarything, it is hoped by them that I find the time to read the book and review it on LibraryThing and anywhere else I desire. Not a difficult ask as I would have got this anyway – and will keep my eye out for the next book in the series. show less

A fast paced read. I really liked the 'hook' at the end of every chapter that drove it forward. I also liked how the 'team' worked, sharing ideas and taking turns to be the 'hero'
This was a mish-mash of Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew / Hardy Boys which didn't quite work. The kids are age 12 and under like in the Enid Blyton books but they do things that are more suitable to the latter series. I found that quite hard to accept. Also, the police kept thanking the kids for deducing things as if they didn't have a brain between them! I also found the idea that both their parents would leave them to more or less fend for themselves in a village by the sea hard to swallow.