My enormous thanks to fellow blogger Lou at Bookmarks and Stages for ensuring I received a copy of children’s book Blaze Dog Detective: The Magic Flag Mystery by Lin Anderson and Donald McKay in return for an honest review.

The first in the Blaze Dog Detective series, The Magic Flag Mystery was published on 8th April by Dunedin and is available for purchase here.

Blaze Dog Detective: The Magic Flag Mystery

When the famous fairy flag of the Clan MacLeod disappears from a locked room at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye, the police immediately call in Blaze Dog Detective.

After all his scenting skills on the island are legendary.

With his team of Rosa, Rory and wee brother Laoch, Blaze leads the chase to rescue this magical flag before it can be spirited away from the island forever.

My review

of

Blaze Dog Detective: The Magic Flag Mystery

Blaze is about to use his nose on a new adventure.

I thought I might just dip into The Magic Flag Mystery as I was between books and a children’s story would be a good filler. That was a complete underestimation of how good a story The Magic Flag Mystery is! I loved it. I might be around half a century older than the target audience but it had me spellbound.

There’s a thrilling plot of theft, baddies, danger and peril with so many exciting events along the way that the pace is fast and compelling. An undercurrent of magic enhances the mystery through Granny Beaton’s crystal ball, and through the communications between animals, and between them and humans, especially with regard to Blaze and Rosa. Circling crows give a sense of menace and secret passages and tunnels add to the atmosphere so any reader of any age will be enchanted by this narrative. Short chapters with cliffhanger endings would draw in the most reluctant reader and I wish I were about 9 reading The Magic Flag Mystery by torchlight under the bed covers because I know I’d be totally enraptured!

The characters are wonderfully drawn. Blaze’s first person narrative is utterly convincing so that although he is a dog telling the tale completely authentically, the authors create his persona in a way that makes the reader feel as in tune with him as is Rosa. Whilst the people and animals are vivid and appealing, the setting of Skye is also so powerfully depicted the place become a character too. I loved this quality in the writing.

I enjoyed The Magic Flag Mystery without reservation. It seemed to have the appeal that reminded me of my childhood addiction to Enid Blyton but with a fresh and modern feel that is unique to this setting and these characters too. I fear The Magic Flag Mystery might be a quiet book with little recognition but it deserves to be lauded and shared. It’s a cracking tale of adventure and excitement that is just what readers of all ages need in these trying times.

About Lin Anderson

Lin Anderson is best known as the creator of the forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod series of crime thriller novels, and for her part in founding the annual ‘Bloody Scotland’ crime writing festival.

For more information, follow Lin on Twitter @Lin_Anderson or visit her website. You’ll also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also follow Blaze on Twitter @Blazespage and find out more here.