THE PEACOCK DETECTIVES BY CARLY NUGENT
The Peacock Detectives by Carly Nugent was shortlisted by the CBCA in 2019. This delightful tale follows Cassie Andersen who knows how to find things, including her neighbour’s missing peacocks. With her “interesting facts” sharing friend Jonas, she starts the search. Writing her story as she goes, Cassie follows leads that become more complicated than just tracking down two birds.
In between school and wandering the streets looking for peacocks, she realises things are slowly falling apart at home. Her “fourteen-turning-fifteen” sister Diana has taken up Buddhism and is now living in the garden. Her mum moves out and her dad sits on the sofa in his pyjamas rather than going to work. On top of all of that, her Grandpa is sick and no one will let her go into his hospital room to visit him.
All these things are weighing on her mind and distract her from tracking down the peacocks. The school bully Rhea Grimm has taken more of a dislike of her as Cassie’s father suspended her before he took sick leave. Cassie assumes things can’t get much worse, that is until Jonas disappears and now she must find him too.
After collecting clues in Jonas’ bedroom, Cassie heads off to the big city to bring him home. Feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, she is both surprised and a little worried when Rhea Grimm steps onto the same train. However, they team up when it becomes obvious that together they can navigate the craziness of the city better as a duo rather than stumbling around alone. They manage to find Jonas and bring him home. Cassie’s disappearance has set in motion a change in the family dynamics, and even though nothing has returned to the pre-peacock missing times, much has changed.
Carly Nugent has created a wonderful novel that is a lovely study of what a family crisis looks like through the eyes of an “eleven-nearly-twelve” year old. Cassie’s writing tips, dotted throughout the book are a great template for budding writers to follow when they write their own story. Readers will enjoy this engaging tale of family and friendship.
For Ages: 9+ 13 years
Number of Pages: 288 in paperback form.
Published: June 2018
Themes: Family conflict, friendship
Rating: 3.5/5
I wish: I could write like Cassie.