Pizza delivery just got deadly
Nothing happens in sleepy Ruffington-on-Sea. Colin Kingsley is the delivery boy for Ceaser Pizza, his family’s business. Bored of doing the same old thing all the time, Colin finds a smart way of setting up as a private detective. Anyone who orders the Mark Anchovy pizza with extra anchovies engages his services but he doesn’t have long – he’s got to be back in time for the next delivery. Then his talent is spotted by the Golden Spatula League and his life gets a whole lot more exciting.
The GSL engages the services of young people in part-time catering jobs. Detectives are sent around the world and put on placement in different cafes, tavernas, snack bars, and restaurants to investigate nefarious crimes. If Colin wants to prove himself worthy of their ranks he must prove himself on his first assignment – a quest to find a missing painting and evidence that it was stolen by notorious art thief Big Alan Fresco.
This takes Colin to Rome -which just so happens to be where he’s heading on a school trip. He’s joined by his mentor Princess and wannabe detective Justin ‘Juice Box’. They’re up against Fresco and his gang of thugs, whose impersonation skills are legendary. They crop up in all kinds of disguises and at the most unexpected times.
A fiendishly clever mystery combines with tongue-in-cheek humour. The result is a funny and engaging book that puts a modern day spin on classic detective stories. What I loved about the concept was how it brought an old genre into the modern day without relying heavily on technology or forensics. Although there are veichles you’ve never heard of in your life, designed and manufactured exclusively for the GSL. It’s a cosy mystery of the funniest kind. It pokes affectionate fun at our love of takeaway food and tourist trips, and while references to the takeaways aren’t forced in there is witty use of favourite snacks throughout the plot.
Having read a lot of mystery books, I couldn’t imagine how Romans meets Pizza meets art would work but trust me – it does. The Golden Spatula League puts ordinary kids into extraordinary circumstances and it introduces them to other kids around the world.
As good as a freshly-cooked margarita with red peppers on top. This series gets my thumbs-up and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Mark Anchovy – Pizza Detective is available now from Piccadilly Press. RRP £6.99 (Provided for review)
