About the Book and Author
This adventure detective story is suitable for readers aged 9-12 years.
It is illustrated by Karl James Mountford and published by Egmont.
Villains in Venice is the third in the Taylor & Rose series of adventures where Miss Sophie Taylor and Miss Lillian Rose work as secrets agents for the British government. After the dramatic events of their previous mission to St Petersburg, Sophie and Lil know the truth – there’s a double-agent at work at the Secret Service Bureau. Whilst Lil pursues a dangerous line of enquiry in London, Sophie must set out on a new mission to Venice, following a twisted trail to discover long-buried secrets. As well as a page-turning adventure, this book gives a real sense of time (Edwardian era) and place (carnival season in Venice).
Katherine Woodfine is a true champion of children’s literature. Until 2015 she was Arts Project Manager for Booktrust, where she project-managed the Children’s Laureateship and YALC, the UK’s first Young Adult Literature Convention, curated by Malorie Blackman. She is part of the founding team at Down the Rabbit Hole, a monthly show for Resonance FM discussing children’s literature. You can find out more about her writing by visiting her website which has lots of interesting activities too.
Book Review
I really like this book because it builds suspense and tension from the outset engaging the reader and making them want to read on
The opening paragraph talks about a mysterious man making the reader wonder who he is and what he’s doing. As the multi-layered plot unfurls it becomes tense with many unexpected plot twists throughout. The maps pictures and diary entries really give an insight to 20th century Venice as well as the tensions in London before the impending world war.
Sophie and her friends travel to the mysterious city of Venice to try to uncover the last of the dragon paintings and source the location of the secret weapon whilst Lil, still upset by Joe’s disappearance, tries to uncover the truth about what really happened to him. But with the Fraternitas becoming stronger every day they must work hard to stay safe and complete the tasks they have been set.
This is the third instalment of the Taylor & Rose series and even though I haven’t read the first two books it was very well explained and I easily followed the storyline.
After reading this book I want to read the first two because I enjoyed it so much.
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Reviewer Profile
- Name: Ruth
- Age: 13 years
- Likes: gymnastics, art and photography
- Dislikes: maths and computing
- Favourite Book: Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling
- Favourite Film: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- Favourite Song: Ciao Adios by Anne Marie