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The Galileo Heist
The third adventure in the Isaac Turner Investigates series sees Isaac's summer in Italy go horribly wrong when he becomes embroiled in a heist to clear his grandfather's name. Can Isaac shine a light on the truth in time?
'An ingenious mystery' - A. F. Steadman, author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, on THE CLOCKWORK CONSPIRACY
Every summer holiday, Isaac Turner spends three weeks with his grandfather, Ferdinand, at his house in Italy, and this year his best friend Hattie is coming too. Everything points to a fantastic summer, until Ferdinand is arrested for the theft of millions of euros of jewellery.
But Ferdinand hasn't stolen anything – yet.
Drawn into a daring heist during a solar eclipse, Isaac and Hattie must figure out who is telling the truth, and who is using the cover of darkness to deceive them.
'An ingenious mystery' - A. F. Steadman, author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, on THE CLOCKWORK CONSPIRACY
Every summer holiday, Isaac Turner spends three weeks with his grandfather, Ferdinand, at his house in Italy, and this year his best friend Hattie is coming too. Everything points to a fantastic summer, until Ferdinand is arrested for the theft of millions of euros of jewellery.
But Ferdinand hasn't stolen anything – yet.
Drawn into a daring heist during a solar eclipse, Isaac and Hattie must figure out who is telling the truth, and who is using the cover of darkness to deceive them.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 12, 2026
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21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Review of advance copy
I preordered this book and it arrived early. I couldn't wait to read it. I've been really enjoying this series.
This book was fast paced, gripping and full of adventure. A riveting mystery with an unexpected twist. I didn't see it coming. There was also a continuing mystery going on behind the scenes which was interesting to have a sneak peak at.
As always I'll be looking forward to the next one.
This book was fast paced, gripping and full of adventure. A riveting mystery with an unexpected twist. I didn't see it coming. There was also a continuing mystery going on behind the scenes which was interesting to have a sneak peak at.
As always I'll be looking forward to the next one.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Galileo Heist is the third book in Sam Sedgman's Isaac Turner Investigates series. Once again Isaac and his friend Hattie are caught up in adventure with a mystery to solve. The book opens with the pair flying to Italy to stay with Isaac's grandfather, Ferdinand. It's usually a fairly boring holiday when Isaac is there by himself, so he is pleased to have Hattie there too. However, from the moment they meet Ferdinand at the airport, it is clear that this holiday will be different. Ferdinand is nervous and suspicious and they end up fleeing from the airport in a thrilling car chase scene.
They take a detour to Florence where Ferdinand asks his friend Olga to look after Isaac and Hattie as his house is being watched. Before he can leave, the police arrive and arrest him for a major jewellery theft. We learn that Ferdinand used to be a renowned thief known as the Tarantula, although he swears to Isaac that it is all in the past and he did not steal the jewels. However, there are more reveals to come about Ferdinand and Olga.
Isaac and Hattie are drawn in to plans for a daring heist during the solar eclipse. A motley crew of children, somewhat senior citizens and one more unlikely recruit must work together to retrieve an item that is especially valuable to Isaac. Older readers may need to suspend their disbelief a little at the short timeline and increased aptitude of those involved but it makes for an enjoyable read. It's not all easy either with several setbacks along the way. One of which is a growing suspicion that not only was Ferdinand set up for the original theft, but that the person involved is part of the heist crew.
This felt more like an adventure story than a mystery because of the focus on the heist. But there was still intrigue about the identity of the thief as well as hints about what's to come in the next book in the series. The pace of the novel was really good and I thought the use of the eclipse during the heist was an interesting twist.
A fun read with some interesting science thrown in, I really enjoyed this.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Children's Books for the ARC.
They take a detour to Florence where Ferdinand asks his friend Olga to look after Isaac and Hattie as his house is being watched. Before he can leave, the police arrive and arrest him for a major jewellery theft. We learn that Ferdinand used to be a renowned thief known as the Tarantula, although he swears to Isaac that it is all in the past and he did not steal the jewels. However, there are more reveals to come about Ferdinand and Olga.
Isaac and Hattie are drawn in to plans for a daring heist during the solar eclipse. A motley crew of children, somewhat senior citizens and one more unlikely recruit must work together to retrieve an item that is especially valuable to Isaac. Older readers may need to suspend their disbelief a little at the short timeline and increased aptitude of those involved but it makes for an enjoyable read. It's not all easy either with several setbacks along the way. One of which is a growing suspicion that not only was Ferdinand set up for the original theft, but that the person involved is part of the heist crew.
This felt more like an adventure story than a mystery because of the focus on the heist. But there was still intrigue about the identity of the thief as well as hints about what's to come in the next book in the series. The pace of the novel was really good and I thought the use of the eclipse during the heist was an interesting twist.
A fun read with some interesting science thrown in, I really enjoyed this.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Children's Books for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Book 3 in the Isaac Turner Investigates series, which is worth any school having in their collection because it is simply brilliant.
Isaac and Hattie arrive in Tuscany to spend a few weeks with Isaac's grandfather, Ferdinand. He is Isaac's mother father (she died when Isaac was little. Isaac doesn't think his father likes Ferdinand very much.
As they leave the airport Isaac is conscious his grandfather is looking about worriedly. Isaac sees a woman watching them from near a van. Then they are followed by that van - causing Ferdinand to gain speed and chase through the streets!
Ferdinand doesn't take the children to his house in the countryside but to his friend Olga's house on a small piazza in Florence. Just as they are introduced the van speeds into the piazza and Ferdinand is arrested!
He is accused of stealing jewels from the son of one of his friend's who died recently. Isaac learns that his grandfather and Olga were a crime duo - thieves who were very good. But they are old now, surely they couldn't have done this. Ferdinand insists he didn't.
And so Isaac and Hattie with Olga have to prove he didn't.
Only one problem - they were planning to steal from this man! They were only going to steal one item - a necklace that Ferdinand had lent to his friend for his collection on Galileo. A necklace that had belonged to Isaac's mother - but Ferdinand had nothing to prove it was his apart from a photo of Isaac and his mother and so he can't get it back.
So they decide that to prove Ferdinand's innocence and retrieve the necklace they will have to rob Cosimo de Luca - the son of Ferdinand's friend for real! But it has to be done 16 days later - on the day of the Eclipse.
They will need more than just them to pull it off though. But who can be trusted.
Brilliant again. Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for the ecopy via NetGalley.
Isaac and Hattie arrive in Tuscany to spend a few weeks with Isaac's grandfather, Ferdinand. He is Isaac's mother father (she died when Isaac was little. Isaac doesn't think his father likes Ferdinand very much.
As they leave the airport Isaac is conscious his grandfather is looking about worriedly. Isaac sees a woman watching them from near a van. Then they are followed by that van - causing Ferdinand to gain speed and chase through the streets!
Ferdinand doesn't take the children to his house in the countryside but to his friend Olga's house on a small piazza in Florence. Just as they are introduced the van speeds into the piazza and Ferdinand is arrested!
He is accused of stealing jewels from the son of one of his friend's who died recently. Isaac learns that his grandfather and Olga were a crime duo - thieves who were very good. But they are old now, surely they couldn't have done this. Ferdinand insists he didn't.
And so Isaac and Hattie with Olga have to prove he didn't.
Only one problem - they were planning to steal from this man! They were only going to steal one item - a necklace that Ferdinand had lent to his friend for his collection on Galileo. A necklace that had belonged to Isaac's mother - but Ferdinand had nothing to prove it was his apart from a photo of Isaac and his mother and so he can't get it back.
So they decide that to prove Ferdinand's innocence and retrieve the necklace they will have to rob Cosimo de Luca - the son of Ferdinand's friend for real! But it has to be done 16 days later - on the day of the Eclipse.
They will need more than just them to pull it off though. But who can be trusted.
Brilliant again. Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for the ecopy via NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received an eARC from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.
THE GALILEO HEIST is an action-packed heist set in Florence.
I love heist novels and this book is a great inclusion to the genre. It requires a clever plan (and revisions to said plan when problems crop up!), a crew to pull it off, and of course a big action sequence. This tale has all of them in spades, making for a novel that's hard to put down as you want to know what happens next - and how they'll get away with it.
Unlike the rest of the series so far, this book is not about measurement systems and is a slightly more "traditional" thriller in that respect. However, it still has a lot of nerdery around eclipses, which was fun. I really liked that the tale highlighted a female scientist who has traditionally been overlooked.
The cast for this book is bigger than the previous ones, thanks to needing several people to pull off the mission. I liked how intergenerational this novel was, with the kids (teens now!) working under the mentorship of retired thieves. There is also a return of an antagonist from a previous book and it was so much fun having him throw a lot of uncertainty into the mix.
This book is also the first where it's becoming obvious that there is an overarching story for the series. It's not just the return of a shady character but the hints (and epilogue) of something being built toward. It's made me more excited for the next instalment!
THE GALILEO HEIST is an action-packed heist set in Florence.
I love heist novels and this book is a great inclusion to the genre. It requires a clever plan (and revisions to said plan when problems crop up!), a crew to pull it off, and of course a big action sequence. This tale has all of them in spades, making for a novel that's hard to put down as you want to know what happens next - and how they'll get away with it.
Unlike the rest of the series so far, this book is not about measurement systems and is a slightly more "traditional" thriller in that respect. However, it still has a lot of nerdery around eclipses, which was fun. I really liked that the tale highlighted a female scientist who has traditionally been overlooked.
The cast for this book is bigger than the previous ones, thanks to needing several people to pull off the mission. I liked how intergenerational this novel was, with the kids (teens now!) working under the mentorship of retired thieves. There is also a return of an antagonist from a previous book and it was so much fun having him throw a lot of uncertainty into the mix.
This book is also the first where it's becoming obvious that there is an overarching story for the series. It's not just the return of a shady character but the hints (and epilogue) of something being built toward. It's made me more excited for the next instalment!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received an e-ARC from Net Galley in return for an honest review.
I've not read the previous books in this series, but they've now been added to my library TBR list, as the premise of them seems quite fun. I feel like this is a good series for a confident young reader who doesn't need to be hand held; it's not a book that lends itself to being read out loud by an adult, it's much more of an adventure than that. Right from the start there's action abound, lots of intrigue going on and plenty of food for thought. It doesn't spoon feed you everything, letting you go along with the action as it occurs. It kind of gave me Ocean's Eleven but for kids vibes; lots of different people putting in their skills to fulfil a common goal, but it was pretty unrealistic in that the two main child characters were expected to be capable at their new skills within two weeks, which is pushing the boundaries of suspension of disbelief a little. I wasn't initially a fan of the plot twist reveal, but having taken time to stew it over it does make sense.
I've not read the previous books in this series, but they've now been added to my library TBR list, as the premise of them seems quite fun. I feel like this is a good series for a confident young reader who doesn't need to be hand held; it's not a book that lends itself to being read out loud by an adult, it's much more of an adventure than that. Right from the start there's action abound, lots of intrigue going on and plenty of food for thought. It doesn't spoon feed you everything, letting you go along with the action as it occurs. It kind of gave me Ocean's Eleven but for kids vibes; lots of different people putting in their skills to fulfil a common goal, but it was pretty unrealistic in that the two main child characters were expected to be capable at their new skills within two weeks, which is pushing the boundaries of suspension of disbelief a little. I wasn't initially a fan of the plot twist reveal, but having taken time to stew it over it does make sense.
March 1, 2026
I was so excited when my request to read this was granted by #NetGalley.
The Galileo Heist is the third book in this adventure series which is a great read for anyone who loves a great mystery adventure!
In this book, Isaac is going to spend some of the holidays with his grandfather in Florence and persuads his best friend Hattie to go with him. However, he promised her they would be chilling, sitting by a swimming pool but from the moment they get off the plane, this holiday was anything but!
In this book, they have to put a team together in order to steal a family necklace back and clear his grandads name, but someone in this crew, has their own agenda.
Like the other books, this is full of suspense, mystery, adventure, drama and new friendships and the reappearance of an older character.
Thank you @BloomsburyChildrensBooks for this ARC. I can't wait for the next instalment!
The Galileo Heist is the third book in this adventure series which is a great read for anyone who loves a great mystery adventure!
In this book, Isaac is going to spend some of the holidays with his grandfather in Florence and persuads his best friend Hattie to go with him. However, he promised her they would be chilling, sitting by a swimming pool but from the moment they get off the plane, this holiday was anything but!
In this book, they have to put a team together in order to steal a family necklace back and clear his grandads name, but someone in this crew, has their own agenda.
Like the other books, this is full of suspense, mystery, adventure, drama and new friendships and the reappearance of an older character.
Thank you @BloomsburyChildrensBooks for this ARC. I can't wait for the next instalment!
December 19, 2025
Great summer adventure set in Florence. I haven’t read the previous books in the series, but it is not absolutely necessary. How to become a thief but not a baddy- the story centres around Hattie, Isaac and his grandfather (who was a thief a long time ago). It is a pacy, sometimes breathtaking story with scope for another book in the series. Highly recommend for a perfect summer holiday read for 10 to 13 year olds.
December 21, 2025
LOVED THIS. This series is so brilliant. This third instalment takes us to Italy, to a heist and to some familiar faces! I loved how gutsy and brave the children were! That ending left me shook - I can’t wait for the next book now!!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Another fun instalment in the series
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews