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Alice Éclair #4
Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire! A Dash of Daring
Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire will whisk you away on a fabulous adventure, full of daring action and delicious cakes!
Baker by day, spy by night - Alice Éclair leads an exciting double life!
At France's Olympics training camp, a brilliant young cyclist needs help. Her father has disappeared - along with the machine he invented that creates unbreakable codes. Alice goes to work undercover in the athletes' butter-free kitchen, desperate to crack the case. Armed with a light sponge mix and an airy disregard for danger, can Alice serve up a solution before it's too late?
A Sprinkling of Danger is Alice's fourth adventure and can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire series. Look out for Alice's other missions - A Recipe for Trouble, A Spoonful of Spying and A Sprinkling of Danger!
Perfect for fans of Robin Stevens' Murder Most Unladylike series and M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman's Adventures on Trains series.
Baker by day, spy by night - Alice Éclair leads an exciting double life!
At France's Olympics training camp, a brilliant young cyclist needs help. Her father has disappeared - along with the machine he invented that creates unbreakable codes. Alice goes to work undercover in the athletes' butter-free kitchen, desperate to crack the case. Armed with a light sponge mix and an airy disregard for danger, can Alice serve up a solution before it's too late?
A Sprinkling of Danger is Alice's fourth adventure and can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire series. Look out for Alice's other missions - A Recipe for Trouble, A Spoonful of Spying and A Sprinkling of Danger!
Perfect for fans of Robin Stevens' Murder Most Unladylike series and M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman's Adventures on Trains series.
- GenresMiddle Grade
175 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 6, 2024
About the author
Sarah Todd Taylor
17 books22 followersSarah is a children's writer from Mid Wales. Her debut book, Arthur and Me, was published by Firefly Press in October 2014. She adores puzzles, codes and mysteries and is the author of the Max the Detective Cat series and the Alice Éclair : Spy Extraordinaire series, both published by Nosy Crow.
When not writing she can be found singing opera round mid Wales.
When not writing she can be found singing opera round mid Wales.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 15, 2026
What worked:
Alice now has a reputation as one of the most skilled bakers in France, and she once again creates amazing, impressive cakes. She’s joined by Sophie, a young, gifted engineer who also appeared in the previous book. These two characters developed a close rapport, and Sophie is working as an unofficial spy. Alice’s Uncle Robert reappears to cause trouble, as Sophie knows he’s working for the Germans. He was Alice’s mentor until she discovered that he’s a traitor to France. The book’s setting is pre-World War II, and the French fear Germany may be preparing for another war. The missing inventor’s encoding machine will be a game-changer for whichever country possesses it.
Alice’s baking talents project a compelling cover identity, allowing her to move freely around the training camp. Adele is an aspiring Olympic cyclist, and she’s receiving threatening letters that instruct her to drop out. There’s no apparent reason to target her, and Adele isn’t going to let the messages stop her from competing. The letters sound very similar, so Alice suspects there’s more to them than may appear. Young readers who enjoy mysteries and puzzles will like being inside Alice’s head as she tries to uncover the suspicious messages and threats.
Alice is joined by a team of unique characters, each one assisting in some way. Adele’s brother, Hugo, is a gifted artist, but he’s forced to use a wheelchair for long periods of walking. Adele and Hugo’s knowledge of their father is invaluable in solving coded letters. Hugo is training a pigeon to deliver messages, and it helps the characters communicate in difficult situations. Even a cat named Casper helps rescue Alice, although it usually causes trouble by sneaking into the kitchen.
What didn’t work as well:
Alice’s ability to create “masterpieces” of pastry and cake is hard to swallow at times. She always manages to come up with amazing recipes and designs even though she has limited time and uses different baking mediums. On the other hand, it makes her seem like a super girl, Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire!
The final verdict:
It’s unclear if there will be a fifth book, but this one wraps up all of the past subplots and problems. This book can be enjoyed on its own, but I recommend you start from the beginning.
Alice now has a reputation as one of the most skilled bakers in France, and she once again creates amazing, impressive cakes. She’s joined by Sophie, a young, gifted engineer who also appeared in the previous book. These two characters developed a close rapport, and Sophie is working as an unofficial spy. Alice’s Uncle Robert reappears to cause trouble, as Sophie knows he’s working for the Germans. He was Alice’s mentor until she discovered that he’s a traitor to France. The book’s setting is pre-World War II, and the French fear Germany may be preparing for another war. The missing inventor’s encoding machine will be a game-changer for whichever country possesses it.
Alice’s baking talents project a compelling cover identity, allowing her to move freely around the training camp. Adele is an aspiring Olympic cyclist, and she’s receiving threatening letters that instruct her to drop out. There’s no apparent reason to target her, and Adele isn’t going to let the messages stop her from competing. The letters sound very similar, so Alice suspects there’s more to them than may appear. Young readers who enjoy mysteries and puzzles will like being inside Alice’s head as she tries to uncover the suspicious messages and threats.
Alice is joined by a team of unique characters, each one assisting in some way. Adele’s brother, Hugo, is a gifted artist, but he’s forced to use a wheelchair for long periods of walking. Adele and Hugo’s knowledge of their father is invaluable in solving coded letters. Hugo is training a pigeon to deliver messages, and it helps the characters communicate in difficult situations. Even a cat named Casper helps rescue Alice, although it usually causes trouble by sneaking into the kitchen.
What didn’t work as well:
Alice’s ability to create “masterpieces” of pastry and cake is hard to swallow at times. She always manages to come up with amazing recipes and designs even though she has limited time and uses different baking mediums. On the other hand, it makes her seem like a super girl, Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire!
The final verdict:
It’s unclear if there will be a fifth book, but this one wraps up all of the past subplots and problems. This book can be enjoyed on its own, but I recommend you start from the beginning.
June 13, 2024
Not overwhelmed by this. It was ok!
July 13, 2025
i didn't enjoy this as much as the other books.it was still exciting to read
July 13, 2026
Exciting end to a brilliant series. Delivered what we wanted. Thoroughly enjoyed reading with my children
July 17, 2024
A DASH OF DARING sends Alice off in style as she undertakes her last mission, this time combining Olympics and codebreaking.
This book is all about codebreaking with examples of several in the book itself. The missing invention is similar in some ways to engima with a ten-setting wheel key to its unbreakable nature.
There is plenty of action too with a mountain side escape and a puzzle solving sequence that takes Alice and gang across Paris. I enjoyed the escape in particular, harking back to previous adventures while bringing a frosty feel and as an escalation of stakes.
I really liked the fact that Sophie returned in this book, after her staring role in A SPOONFUL OF SPYING. While there are new character, notably the twin children of the missing inventor, having Sophie back gave this a finale feel by bringing her back to compliment the other returning characters Claude and Stella. It meant Alice had a team around her as she squared off against her uncle (and the resolution of that storyline was so satisfying!)
In all, this was a great ending to the series, an adventure that can be read on its own, but definitely should be read as a full series for the full weight of payoff.
This book is all about codebreaking with examples of several in the book itself. The missing invention is similar in some ways to engima with a ten-setting wheel key to its unbreakable nature.
There is plenty of action too with a mountain side escape and a puzzle solving sequence that takes Alice and gang across Paris. I enjoyed the escape in particular, harking back to previous adventures while bringing a frosty feel and as an escalation of stakes.
I really liked the fact that Sophie returned in this book, after her staring role in A SPOONFUL OF SPYING. While there are new character, notably the twin children of the missing inventor, having Sophie back gave this a finale feel by bringing her back to compliment the other returning characters Claude and Stella. It meant Alice had a team around her as she squared off against her uncle (and the resolution of that storyline was so satisfying!)
In all, this was a great ending to the series, an adventure that can be read on its own, but definitely should be read as a full series for the full weight of payoff.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews