Lauren St. John: Dead Man’s Cove (Orion Children’s Book 2010)

I first came across Lauren St. John’s writings in the Winter Magic short story collection, where her story was my favorite and I decided to read more from her. The author grew up on a game reserve farm in Zimbabwe. The experience had a great impact on her, which is reflected in her works, such as the White Giraffe and in her involvement in the work of the Born Free Foundation. Her mystery series were also published, starring detectives Laura Marlin and Kat Wolffe. I read the first part of Laura’s adventures.
Laura Marlin has an interesting name and she is also an interesting person. She lives in an orphanage, but she still likes it better than her possible foster parents. However, one day her uncle (her mother’s brother) finds her and takes her in. Laura has always dreamed of becoming a detective one day and now, in the small seaside town in Cornwall, she has the opportunity to do so. Her uncle arrived in the town under mysterious circumstances, and since then he has had no friends, he is always working. The son of the Indian owner of the local grocery may also be hiding a strange secret, and then there is that message in a bottle on the beach… There is definitely something to find out.
Laura is a very curious and kind girl who finally experiences what it’s like when someone completely trusts her and treats her like a family member. Her uncle is more like her father to her. She finally finds friends in Tariq and her dog, but the secret she discovers is much bigger and more serious than she thought. In addition to adventures and investigations, we can also read about serious social problems. Until now, five volumes of the series and a short story were published for World Book Day.