The London Eye Mystery facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Siobhan Dowd |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's mystery novel |
| Publisher | David Fickling Books |
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Publication date
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2007 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 336 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-61266-1 |
| OCLC | 84996178 |
The London Eye Mystery is an exciting mystery novel for kids. It was written by the English author Siobhan Dowd and came out in 2007. The story is about a boy named Ted, who has Asperger syndrome, and his sister Kat. They work together to figure out a big puzzle: their cousin, Salim, seems to disappear from inside a closed capsule on the famous London Eye. Later, in 2017, another author named Robin Stevens wrote a follow-up book called The Guggenheim Mystery.
Contents
The Mystery Begins
The story starts when Ted's Aunt Gloria comes to visit. She brings her son, Salim, who is about a year older than Ted. Ted has Asperger syndrome, which means his brain works a bit differently. People with Asperger syndrome often have very strong interests. For Ted, it's all about the weather!
Salim is really interested in an old building called the Barracks. It's on the same street as Ted's house. The next day, Salim, Ted, and Ted's older sister Kat decide to ride the London Eye. They are not happy about the long wait in line.
A Strange Ticket
Suddenly, a stranger comes up to them. He offers them a ticket for the London Eye. He says he's scared of small spaces and can't go on the ride. They decide to give the ticket to Salim, since he's never been on the Eye before. Salim waves to his cousins as he gets into the capsule.
About half an hour later, Salim's capsule comes back down. But when Kat and Ted look inside, Salim is gone! He has completely vanished.
Searching for Clues
When Aunt Gloria and Ted's mom find out, they are very upset with Kat. They can't believe she let Salim take a ticket from a stranger. That evening, Ted and Kat check Salim's camera. They decide to get the photos developed, hoping for clues.
The family then gets a call from the police. They say they found a boy who matched Salim's description. Luckily, it wasn't Salim. The next day, Kat, Ted, and their dad go to get the pictures. Then, they ride the London Eye again. They want to see if Salim could have hidden or somehow left the capsule without anyone seeing. But they don't find any answers.
Finding the Stranger
When they get home, Ted and Kat look at the new photos. They find one small clue: the stranger who gave them the ticket is in the background of a picture. He's wearing a T-shirt with some letters missing: "ONTLI ECUR". Ted and Kat figure out the shirt actually says 'FRONTLINE SECURITY'. This is a security company working at a motorbike show nearby.
Kat goes to the exhibition, and Ted soon figures out where she went. He follows her there. They find the stranger who gave them the ticket. But he just avoids their questions and says he doesn't know anything about Salim.
Solving the Puzzle
Ted uses his unique way of thinking to figure out how Salim might have left the London Eye without being seen. He immediately calls the police. The police arrive with Marcus, who is a friend of Salim. Marcus helped Salim with his plan to disappear.
Marcus had bought two tickets for the same capsule. He used one himself. He also convinced his brother to pretend to be a man who was afraid of small spaces. This brother then gave his ticket to Salim, pretending not to know him. Salim knew the plan. He pretended not to know Marcus's brother and got into the same capsule as Marcus. Marcus was dressed as a teenage girl.
The Clever Swap
When the other people in the capsule lined up for a souvenir photo, Salim and Marcus quickly swapped clothes. Ted noticed a coat jacket sleeve in one of the pictures. That's how he realized the "girl" who left the pod was actually Salim!
Once they left the capsule, Salim and Marcus spent the day together. They separated at Euston Underground station. That was the last time Marcus saw Salim. Ted then realizes that Salim must be in the old Barracks building. Salim had been very interested in it when he first arrived.
Finally, they find Salim in the old Barracks Building. He had been trapped there, all alone, for three days! The building was going to be torn down the very next day. Salim eventually agrees to fly to New York with his mother, Aunt Gloria, to try living there for six months.
Awards and Recognition
The London Eye Mystery won many awards! These include:
- The Book sens Children's Pick List Award in 2008
- The School Library Journal Best Books of the Year Award in 2008
- The Booklist Children's Editors' Choice Award in 2008
- The Horn Book Fanfare Award in 2008
- The Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books Award
- The Book Links Lasting Connection Award in 2008
The book is also available in ten different languages. These are Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, and Spanish.
