Simone LaFray is not a normal girl, no matter how much she looks like one, because she is a spy. One of the agents of the Ministry, a girl named Claire, is kidnapped in London just after finding a very valuable package that would be devastating in the wrong hands. Simone has to take her best friend, the V, along with her to London to investigate the case. Only one problem: the V has no idea about Simone's secret life, and it must stay that way. As Simone searches the school for the package, she manages to get into deep trouble, wreck her friendship with the V, fail her mission, and discover the Ministry might not be exactly what she thought it was. Will Simone be able to save the day again? Read this book to find out!
Opinion:
Simone LaFray is one of the best new book series I have read in a long time. S. P. O'Farrell has created a relatable character in Simone as she struggles through adolescence and starts making her own decisions and keeping her own secrets. Simone realizes that friends are worth keeping and owns up to her mistakes. Simone proves to us all that failure is a great teacher. I would recommend this book to anyone ages 10-14. There's action, adventure, secrets, and suspense. I read this in one sitting!
What to Expect: Mystery, London Setting, Art, Music, and Confectionary
Perfectly plotted and triumphant! Your newest obsession is here. Readers who love bestselling books like Nevermoor, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the award-winning novel Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett will devour the Simone LaFray Mysteries.
As readers learned in Simone LaFray and the Chocolatiers’ Ball, Simone is a junior spy for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this exciting second installment of the mystery series, duty calls when Claire, a fellow junior spy, goes missing from the posh Claymoore School in London. Simone readily accepts the assignment to find Claire and uncover the hiding spot of the dangerously inexplicable omni-key, but her newfound popularity since her triumph at the Chocolatiers’ Ball provides some challenges for remaining undercover.
With so much at play for a young girl—including a new school, making new friends, navigating school rivalries, and a possible first crush—going undercover becomes complicated. Simone finds herself questioning loyalties and keeping secrets from those she values. Who can she trust? Herself? And who is in this vigilante group known as the Red Wolves of London that only comes out at nighttime? Could “la Volpe Rossa” (the Red Fox), the most well-known thief in the world, be involved in Claire’s disappearance? Is he after the omni-key, too? There’s also the opening of a new LaFray’s Patisserie in London to oversee!
Once again, intricately weaving mystery, art, music, and confectionary, SP O’Farrell’s masterful storytelling builds and builds for a spectacularly satisfying grand finale that unpacks the mystery neatly (while crucial characters find themselves in quite a tantalizing mess). Simone’s character is so well-developed that tween readers will be lured by the relatable friendship struggles and inspired by the way she steps up and out of her comfort zone.
Filled with stunning sentences that set every scene, everything about Simone LaFray and the Red Wolves of London has been created with care, and readers will be ravenous for the next Simone LaFray mystery.
