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Football Detective #3
Off Side
Meet Danny Harte.
Football fan and crime detective.
Danny's beloved City FC is facing a takeover from and unknown foreign organization.
The fans are in uproar.
And when a young African player is lured to City by a corrupt agent, Danny's suspicions lead him into serious danger.
Has Danny finally met his match? Or will his detective skills save his life - and his club...?
Football fan and crime detective.
Danny's beloved City FC is facing a takeover from and unknown foreign organization.
The fans are in uproar.
And when a young African player is lured to City by a corrupt agent, Danny's suspicions lead him into serious danger.
Has Danny finally met his match? Or will his detective skills save his life - and his club...?
242 pages, Unknown Binding
First published May 6, 2010
5 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 13, 2016
Intelligent, entertaining thriller aimed at 10-12 year olds. I'm never entirely clear at what point the crossover occurs, and rather than having heroes and heroines a few years older than the target reader, the h&h are younger than the audience (as seems to be the case, even secondarily so, for a lot of YA fiction. Wish fulfilment and all that. But that's a matter for another time and place.)
Here, the sporting sleuth is a 15 year old, and aside from trying to break up a footballer smuggling and exploitation ring, also has to contend with the confusion of puppy love (I don't say this disparagingly, btw). Author plays up the difference between global north and south without being patronising, and throws in a couple of ancillary issues - fair trade and consumption - in a topical and unforced manner. Proof of the pudding is that the 9 year old I read this with (English is second language as a reader) not only enjoyed it, but had lots of questions about fair trade, the scouting system, exchange rate mechanisms, footballers and visas (and, ultimately, Brexit and the Premiership). Which makes me think the book does a good job of coaxing young readers to think about things.
Here, the sporting sleuth is a 15 year old, and aside from trying to break up a footballer smuggling and exploitation ring, also has to contend with the confusion of puppy love (I don't say this disparagingly, btw). Author plays up the difference between global north and south without being patronising, and throws in a couple of ancillary issues - fair trade and consumption - in a topical and unforced manner. Proof of the pudding is that the 9 year old I read this with (English is second language as a reader) not only enjoyed it, but had lots of questions about fair trade, the scouting system, exchange rate mechanisms, footballers and visas (and, ultimately, Brexit and the Premiership). Which makes me think the book does a good job of coaxing young readers to think about things.
March 1, 2018
This book is amazing and is really well written like the rest of the series. However this book in the series specifically focuses really on bonding with the characters in the book. As well as it helps you understand what situation the characters are in.
June 13, 2022
Great Action (for 8-12 yr olds)
July 2, 2018
Good book, keeps you hooked and is a great mystery story. An excellent, fast paced novel.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews