The Clockmaker Project
About this book
When 12-year-old Alison is sent to stay with her grandmother and her Down’s syndrome aunt during a school holiday, she expects some peace and quiet, away from the family tensions at home. Instead she finds herself caught up in a mystery which no-one except Alison seems interested in solving. Alison dislikes her grandmother’s seaside house at first because of its paper-thin walls and the noisy neighbours. But what she finds out about the reclusive old clockmaker who used to live there and the people next door turns Alison into a nosy neighbour. In a junk shop she finds a red clock made in the very room she is sleeping in. Alison has a strange and vivid dream about the clockmaker on the first night she has the clock in her bedroom. Other dreams follow. What do they mean? With the sometimes reluctant help of Tommy, a local boy living nearby with his single parent father, Alison launches her Clockmaker Project to investigate further. This leads them into situations where it seems as if it is Alison herself who is turning into the criminal mastermind...The Clockmaker Project uses believable characters and authentic dialogue in a realistic setting, along with plenty of gentle humour, to tell a story that has a strong thread of mystery, suspense and tension to keep middle grade readers of 8-12 years turning the pages. The novel is the first book in The Brigtown Projects series and is followed by book two, The Spycatcher Project and book three, The Bonehouse Project. Each novel can also be read as a standalone story. Comments on the novel from readers: Very gripping opening; Good plot; I liked how the dream sequences were woven in; Well-defined characters; Very natural dialogue; An ending I didn’t see coming. Click on ‘Look Inside’ to find out more.