The Interdimensional Detective

The Interdimensional Detective #1

by Ten

Ava Brooks has had something strange happen to her. Her brother, River has mysteriously disappeared and left with barely any trace. All that's left are a broken window latch and a poster tacked on her apartment's bulletin board with a phone number for some "Detective".

Ava decides to take her chances and dial the number. But this "Detective" is a little bit strange...

Who is this person?
Why is she in a mobile toilet?

And, to Ava, the most pressing question.

Will they really be able to rescue River?

Genres: Fantasy

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2023

Reviews

[hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was tempted for the blurb and knowing how the premise was plotted with a combination of mystery and scifi making me more anticipated to read it.

When her brother, River was mysteriously disappeared one morning, Ava tried to piece together the clues about his missing. Curiosity hits her when she saw a strange poster stuck next to the elevator doors on her apartment with big, bold header that read ‘The Interdimensional Detective Bureau’. She later met with a curly red hair detective who claimed that River has been abducted and imprisoned in a slave trader ship. A galactic adventure soon to begin with a realisation of River’s fate that made Ava determined to co-mission with the detective in rescuing River before it gets too late.

I finished reading it in a sitting as it was so short and lightly plotted for a mystery scifi with minimal element of crime on human trafficking. It delved more into a space exploration and action-filled suspense (alien alert!), so neatly structured and fastpacing, quite intense too on the fighting scenes which can be a bit chaotically executed. I was hoping to get an intricate view of the worldbuilding as I find the city of Adel backdrop as gripping much but as this was a novella, the plot was narrowed to focus on its central conflict and characterization more.

Not much a fan to both Ava and detective personalities but I did love their interactions and dynamics also how their friendship was built throughout the adventure. Predictable ending yet it gets me intrigued a bit, perhaps this can be made into a detective series itself, I think. A recommendation to a light scifi fan if you wanna go local as the premise was so easy to grasp with not much twists, also a nice catch too for a new reader to an English novel. 3.5 stars to this!

Thank you Bookiut for sending me a copy to review!

[twiggies · Rating 3 out of 5]

i came to the realisation that maybe sci-fi is not for me hence, it’s a 50-50 for this book

readable, but I couldn’t understand a few parts. this book consists of detective, mobile toilets as transportation, space, aliens, and human trafficking

but what’s wrong with the ending? what does it even mean 😭 is Ava in danger or something

[books.bintulu · Rating 4 out of 5]

June 2023: The Interdimensional Detective

Now I know what porta potty everyone is talking about!😂

Honestly, I love the idea! It brings me back to the time I was homesick in asrama and wished I could travel home.. via the toilet!

Back to the book.

Ava Brooks woke up one morning and found his brother, River, was missing. She sought help from an advertisement she saw on a wall and then came The Detective.

Their journey to find River brought them to another spaceship owned by a Captain. Ava is brave and selfless enough to save his brother and the other prisoners who were victims of the Captain's human and aliens trafficking.

The idea of the Blobs, with its rubbing balloon sound, is funny and creative! The Detective is a mysterious person in the beginning and I have Amelia Henderson playing that role in my head!

And lastly, the pretty cover! 😍

[Spoiler alert: You may find the..

"Urang dah madah iboh keluar tapi hang ketegaq"

..moment in this book! That drove me up the wall but you can't keep the curious cat (in this case Ava) in the bag (portapotty)!]

[Nadirah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novella aimed at MG readers and above, which starts off right off the bat with the mysterious disappearance of Ava's brother, River. The only clue she has is the card that bears a phone number for a so-called "Detective". When she's exhausted her options with the local authorities, Ava has no choice but to turn her attention to the card, and that's when her adventure begins.

Fans of Doctor Who will spot a familiar persona in this story: the interdimensional detective seems to be a non-Terran being and she has a mobile toilet that can take the non-suspecting travellers beyond Earth. The mobile toilet is also bigger on the inside! (And thankfully doesn't smell like a toi-toi, lol.) The author mentioned in the afterword that the detective's character is loosely inspired by the infamous Doctor, so DW fans will likely know what they're in for if they pick this book up.

This book is perfect for MG readers & those who are new to English scifi books as the writing and the scifi aspect aren't super complicated. I enjoyed TEN's writing and hope that the quality of our local English publications will continue along this line. If you're going into this, do bear all of the above in mind and don't expect a Doctor Who episode written by Russell T. Davies or something (tall order, that), and you're good to go!

[Jayra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an easy read, however it could have been better. Ava's interaction with detective was both chaotic and funny. Just wished for more better/detailed explanation, more interaction between her and River, more adventurous space-themed.

[Janice J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, exciting plot. A little bit unconventional and it gave me some Artemis Fowl vibes as it's sci-fi. I got a little lost trying to imagine the battle scenes in the craft at one point, but it was a minor inconvenience. The ending was a bit abrupt and left me with a lot of questions. Overall pleasant read.

P/S: minor observation. There was a typo in one of the chapters "we've alive" instead of "we're alive". not sure if that was intentional or otherwise as they kinda survived a major life and death scene before that.

[bookmehnia · Rating 4 out of 5]

{42/2023} 3.5/5🌟 Fantasy Fiction | 109 pages

This was such a fun read, no wonder my daughter couldn’t put the book down. It has fantasy and science coming together my head was imagining images from Wall-E and Guardians of the Galaxy as inspiration. It’s also good to know that our local writer and publisher have come out with something on par with the international ones and I am so proud of it!

Ava Brooks woke up, one day, feeling weird and she knew something strange had happened. Her brother was supposed to go for a job interview and she could see that something was wrong. Her brother’s possessions were all still intact in his room but he was nowhere to be found. She knew that her brother had been taken without his own will, but she just couldn’t know how. The guard at their apartment didn’t see him leave and nothing weird had happened under his watch. Only a broken window latch in his brother’s room and a poster with some “Detective” phone number that she found on the apartment’s notice board and decided to call the number. One thing that Ava didn’t expect was for the Detective to arrive in a VORST - a Vehicle of Reality and Space Time, or perhaps, a porta potty, yes a portable toilet. Ava began to doubt her decision but she had no other choice! She had to save her brother.

I have the feeling that this is not the only book - infact, it should come in a series. There’s so much that needs to be answered - what’s the background story of the Detective and perhaps, would there be more adventure for Ava and the Detective? Most importantly, did Ava and the Detective save Ava’s brother?

This is such a delightful read for bedtime stories, class storytime as it is packed with fun and adventures. I wish there were visuals to accompany the read! I need to know how the Detective and all the aliens look like! 🤣 Probably, it’s just me - but I need those visuals for the reel playing in my head! 😅

And, of course, suitable read for adults who need those light reading in between, especially if you enjoy fantasy like me!

#justreaddontbawang #bookmehnia #JuneReads #JuneTBRs #bookstagrammalaysia #bookstagrammy #malaysiamembaca #bookstagrammer #bookgram #bibliophile #bibliophilemy #bookish #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #bookish #readersofinstagram #goodreads #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookworm #heyjune #theinterdimensionaldetective #ten

[Anita Kumaran · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating: 3 out of 5 🌟

If you are a fan of mystery and sci-fi or just straight up ready for a whimsical adventure in space, then this book would make the perfect company for you!
Highly recommended for fans of Doctor Who and Guardians of the Galaxy (well, minus the angry racoon and more about cruising through intergalactic space and dimensions).

The first few pages of the book doesn’t waste any time in beating about and dives head-first into the mystery which I definitely appreciate. Ava, the protagonist wakes one day to find her brother, River missing. As she lives in an apartment in what seems to be in the middle of nowhere, she takes the leap of faith and calls the number on a mysterious poster she found for an ‘Interdimensional Private Detective’. What awaited her was about to blow her mind!

This book was so fun to breeze through and served as a quick pick me up when I was in a reading rut. So, if you are looking for something fast-paced that might help you get out of a reading slump, this just might be it!

Fans of Doctor Who would be quick to note this fantasy world has an equivalent to the Tardis which happens to be a porta potty (and it really is bigger on the inside) alongside a parallel of the Sonic Screwdriver. It was such a cute Easter egg to spot!

The writing was very easy to follow along, focusing on the action and plot rather than being heavy on descriptions. So, it would be suitable for young readers as well since it’s a pretty thin novella. I did wish the book expanded more on the worldbuilding as it would have been intriguing to learn more about how the different dimensions worked. Having said that, it has a promising premise to become a detective series in which this can be gradually explored (who knows, eh?)

Ava sometimes can behave very rashly which I did find to be frustrating at times but I suppose that is the whole point of the story; how a single action or decision can take you on a journey of a lifetime, for better or for worse. The red-headed detective on the other hand was definitely the one I was more curious about.

All in all, this is definitely a worthy read for a sci-fi newbie and fans alike! 🥰👌🏽

This book was sent by @bukubookiut in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Bookiut and PTS!

[Iman Danial Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

CANTIK GILA SAMPUL BUKU @bukubookiut BARU NI ✨

The Interdimensional Detective (TID) adalah 1 dari 3 naskhah debut Inggeris YA imprin Bookiut!

TID membawa pembaca ke satu jelajah rentas-dimensi: tentang pengembaraan Ava mencari abangnya, River yang tiba² hilang tanpa jejak.

Dalam buntu merisaukan abangnya, Ava ternampak sebuah poster aneh (zaman internet ni ada orang promo guna poster lagi keee?)

314423400. Nombor aneh, tanpa kod telefon, nama yang tertera "The Interdimensional Detective Bureau"

"Ah, call je lah. Takde gading, tanduk pun berguna juga"

Kedebum! Satu bunyi kuat membingitkan telinga. Dan yang muncul di hadapan Ava adalah— sebuah tandas (porta potty)? 😂

Dari tandas, keluarlah seorang detektif, mengaku dirinya penjelajah angkasa. Katanya, kehilangan River bukan satu kes biasa: River telah diculik oleh sindiket penghambaan manusia antara planet!

✅ Kapal angkasa kelajuan cahaya (dan perjalanan mencemaskan mengelak lingkaran asteroid!)
✅ Senjata (dan penjara) laser
✅ Alien berbahasa aneh, hanya mampu difahami dengan alat terjemahan
✅ Jelajah rentas fabrik ruang-masa

Teringat zaman sekolah rendah dulu, saya suka gilaaaaa genre saifai ni, lagi² kalau yang Choose Your Own Adventure tu, macam main game, tapi dalam buku!

4 ⭐ untuk novel ringan ini!

Bacaan santai & menghiburkan. Sesuai dibaca kalau korang tengah bookslump, dan mencari² buku nipis untuk bangkitkan semula nyala rasa membaca!

Eh, btw, saya nak umumkan bahawa reviu buku saya ini adalah pembuka kepada Jelajah Buku @bukupts tau✨

Bersama saya, ada 11 pengembara lain (dalam rupa book reviewer 📖🚀)

Dari 13-22 Mei, kami akan membawa korang semua ke satu jelajah agung merentasi 3 ranah fantasi (dari 3 novel debut Bookiut): Antariksa, Sea of Ladro dan Kingdom of Verglas

Sila swipe left untuk tengok jadual kembara kita: dan nama² pengembara yang akan menemani anda ke setiap destinasi!

Baik, tugas saya tamat di sini

Saya serahkan baton ke pengembaraan seterusnya kepada @mobyreads!

Selamat mengembara bersama PTS ya rakan²!

#PTSgrandbooktour #jelajahbukuPTS #TheInterdimensionalDetective #sciencefiction #malaysiamembaca #bookstagrammalaysia

[Thes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually go for sci-fi for my leisure read as it was a whole new and complicated world for me, everytime, but this book, make my reading easier! It wasn't hard to understand this world as it is pretty much similar to our world minus all the aliens (or maybe we do have thems!).

I really enjoyed this book and managed to finished them in one hour, for me, it was a big achievement as I am a slow reader and can get distracted quite often. The fast paced and very exciting journey make it hard for me to stop and put it down. Plus, the main character, Ava is a very curious young girl and stubborn which makes it more interesting. As for The Detective, I actually expect more of her story of how did she even begin to be an interdimensional detective. There was minimal infos on her and that make me so curious!

I had a lot of fun imagining all of those gadgets that The Detective own and the aliens as the author got really descriptive in the writing. Up until now I would chuckled when I remember the balloon aliens, sounds cute dooo.

The reunion between Ava and her brother was a bit flat for me because River was so quick to disappear (from the scene or being mentioned helping) again. However, it was still a nice read as the chemistry between Ava and her detective friend is greater. And yeah, I love the story (and of course the cover, it's purple!)

[Ema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ava Brook's brother, River, vanishes just before an important interview, and with the local authorities dragging their feet, Ava makes a desperate call to a number she found on a bizarre ad — The Interdimensional Detective Bureau. What follows is a wild, heartfelt plunge into the unknown.

Amelia — a strange woman who casually steps out of what appears to be a dingy mobile toilet — turns out to be an interdimensional detective. Her "toilet" is actually a spaceship.

The rawness of Ava’s grief, the bittersweet hope in Amelia’s suggestion, and the reckless urgency of their search through alternate dimensions give this novella a pulse that's both sweet and thrilling. The world-building is vibrant without bogging down the pace, and the emotional stakes feel sharp and real.

For a novella, it’s wonderfully compact. Just enough to leave you wanting more, but not so much that it loses the electric feeling of a desperate rescue mission. If there had been more backstory, it might have stretched into a full novel — but honestly, the tightness of it works beautifully.

A strange, moving adventure. I loved it.

[Nadiah Zakaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

what an adventure! who knew a mobile toilet could be so grand and spacious on the inside?

the premise of the story is so simple yet captivating. i quite enjoyed reading about ava and the detective’s space adventures, especially when it came to shooting asteroids and hijacking spaceships.

if you’re looking for a light read but with the right amount of action, then this novella would be perfect. the straightforward and fast-paced nature of the story makes it feel like a breeze. the aliens they encounter are unique as well. at least in my imagination.

i just wish there was more depth to ava and river’s relationship, and that his disappearance was addressed in detail instead of moving on quickly once we reach the resolution of the book. but all in all, it’s a great read!

[Ilynn Virgobiru · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the story is promising as well as the plot. However, the beginning of the story is a bit unrealistic / rush. The author could have done better in terms of the details in which the brother is missing and so forth.

Perhaps because the publisher is pushing on "cute books" or easy to read , so they have to compromise some details.

I agree though that this book is an easy to read. It will attract kids from this generation who are prone to devices and do less reading. If the author writes a thorough, more detailed and organized (which means thicker) book, it would sell, especially for already avid readers.

Nonetheless, I still like the story. Good for kids.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adventure story of a girl who wants to find her missing brother in outer space.

Living in a rural place does not leave Ava with many options to find her missing brother. Since the nearest police station is far away, she suddenly stumbled upon a poster with a header, “The Interdimensional Detective Bureau”.
Intrigued, she called the number and guess what? The receptionist asked her which planet are you in? Weird!, she thought and then a mobile toilet-shaped ship appeared in front of her.

Look, I love how the story started. It was fast-paced and I love the outer space themes.
But I feel like the adventure theme wasn’t touched to a full extent. This book would be very good if the author had more adventurous elements as well as more alien creatures.

[Azril Noor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ava kehilangan seseorang, dan hanya dengan satu panggilan telefon sahaja terus membawa dia bersama seorang Detektif mengembara ke angkasa lepas! Pengembaraan yang menarik dan mendebarkan. Babak mobile toilet mendarat tu aku dah terbayang phone booth dalam Dr. WHO - walaupun aku tak pernah tengok siri tu. Pergerakan plot agak laju, memang tak bazir masa. Tapi sayangnya aku sedikit lost bila masuk babak mereka berdua mendarat dalam kapal angkasa tu. Dinamik antara Ava dan Detektif memang serasi, tapi Ava lebih menyerlah sedikit.

[Sherareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the concept of the story, and I believe it will be amazing if they develop the concept by adding more complex plots, but this book aims mainly at teenagers, so who am I to ask for more? 😂

The personalities of the main characters (Ava and Detective) were a bit lame, and the plots were predictable (for me—an adult). Pretty decent as a teenager book. For adults, it can be used as a light read when busy or stressed. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book—reminiscing about my teenage years, when I used to love and read this kind of book.
Cheers.

[Kaiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Urm.... I don't know. Suddenly River is missing, suddenly Ava went to the guard. Suddenly, she called the detective. Everything happened sooo fast that it seems like it doesn't make sense. Tapi, boleh laa... I am still confused anyway, with the plot.

[Sha Mohamed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pengembaraan yang ohsem dimana Ava ikut Detektif angkasa mencari abangnya River yang tiba-tiba menghilang..

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea.

[Izzah Berhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5🌟

Bacaan ringan yang enjoyable 🌟

[Mohamed Zaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very simple story of inter-dimensional travel and alien space adventure....

[F!ya · Rating 2 out of 5]

･༓☾ 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 ☽༓
This book has been in my 'want to read' for weeks, I've always wanted to read this book. Now that I've got to read it and finished it. I truly regret my decision.

If you find this review uncomfortable to your opinion, then do not scroll down.

Here are some reasons why I didn't like this novel: ~
✦ a mobile toilet as a transportation device? That is ridiculous! If you're trying to be 'unique.' You failed.
✦ the ending is confusing, who ends their book with a 'Bang bang!' ??
✦ I just started the book and River is already gone? The mystery came too early.


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