The Elemental Detectives: the first book in a cracking adventure series

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Iconic monuments take on unexpected shape: Hyde Park gives up ghosts; the Serpentine really snaaaaaakes. Exploring deep themes of slavery, child endangerment, and poverty in Georgian London through the eyes of two Black children, one enslaved and one an apprentice to her grandmother, is a very interesting premise and it was very well done. I didn't think I'd ever relive the first read experience of series like Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising, atmospheric, creepy, wonderful, and this book took me to a place I didn't think was possible as an adult reader. Their differing perspectives, where both are black but only one was a slave, made for some really interesting character dynamics and explained a lot about their different world views. This book is very similar to Lair of Dreams, so fans of that book should enjoy seeing the action moved across the Atlantic and further into the past.

The world-building was a good idea – Georgian London, but with a whole host of elemental spirits filling the city.The different layers of history uncovered in this book are expertly handled and encourage the reader to think about what may have happened in an alternative universe or sphere if describing different causes for well-known historical events (such as the Great Fire of London). Patrice Lawrence is the multi-award-winning author of Orangeboy, which won the 2017 Waterstone’s Book Prize, the 2017 YA Book Prize and was shortlisted for the 2017 Costa Book Awards and the Carnegie Award. It explores themes of social injustice, such as slavery and poverty, with a clear eye, while the character twists and turns will keep the reader hooked. Set within the ancient streets of London, the world that Lawrence has created is one which is ruled by the Elemental spirits – the Dragons (fire), the Fumis (air), the Chads (water) and the Magogs (earth). I wish the book would have focused on EITHER the elemental beasts OR the Ether OR the Shepherdess instead of putting it all in one book and seeing what sticks.

And, finally our heroes: Marisse and Robert, the latter based on the real life 18th century teenager, Jonathan Strong, a significant name in UK Black History which should be shouted much louder.There's a promising book hidden in here somewhere, but there are so many characters and plot points and places all thrown at you in the space of just a few pages that the story feels cluttered. A London where magic sparks just beneath the surface – this book is set to ignite young imaginations.