Expect a relationship-led mystery: a reunion intended to revive old friendships instead exposes resentment and uncertainty. The plot combines disappearances, investigation and near misses with attention to changing group dynamics.
More about this book
Pete Boland was busy doing nothing that summer. Long, stiflingly hot, lazy days stretched ahead of him. Then she called.'Listen, Pete ...you know that funfair, up at the recreation ground ...I thought we could all meet up ...You know, for old times' sake.'But, where there are old times, there are old tensions. And as secrets, bitterness and jealousies resurface, five old friends are plunged into the worst night of their lives . . .Teenage readers will find it impossible to tear themselves away from this dark, tense and gripping new novel from award-winning Kevin Brooks.
Former friends reunite, but old tensions, resentment and changed relationships emerge as the mystery develops.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book appears to examine how familiarity can coexist with distrust, and how secrecy reshapes a group’s sense of loyalty.
Talk about: Does the story treat loyalty as dependable, or as something tested and renegotiated under pressure?
Control and suspicion
Pete begins investigating after disappearances lead suspicion towards Raymond, while the group becomes entangled in secrecy and blackmail.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The mystery uses investigation to explore who controls information and how suspicion can alter people’s treatment of one another.
Talk about: If suspicion falls on someone vulnerable, how fairly does the group respond, and what evidence changes their view?
Disappearance and suspense
A teen connected with the local carnival disappears, and Raymond also mysteriously disappears; Pete pursues an explanation.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book presents disappearance as the engine of a tense mystery, with false trails and near misses shaping the reading experience.
Talk about: How does the story balance suspense about what happened with attention to the people affected by the uncertainty?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It may suit a reader who enjoys crime fiction and suspense alongside emotionally unsettled friendships. Its strongest apparent interest lies in how secrecy, power and loyalty alter the group’s relationships.
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What Deserves Attention
Consider whether the reader enjoys morally complicated group dynamics rather than only straightforward detection. The book appears more interested in fractured trust and shifting bonds than in a purely procedural puzzle.
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A Conversation Worth Having
As you read, ask whether the investigation changes Pete’s understanding of his friends, and how the story distinguishes genuine loyalty from pressure, secrecy or self-interest.
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Reading Approach
A good approach is to pause after major revelations and map who knows what, rather than trying to solve everything immediately. Afterwards, discuss whether the ending resolves the group’s tensions convincingly.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Friendship under pressure: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Control and suspicion: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Disappearance and suspense: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
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