Smokescreen

by Bernard Ashley

This is an electrifying thriller about the highly topical subject of people-smuggling, from one of the UK's leading children's authors. Ellie has been scared of water since her mum drowned, so when her dad decides to move to a pub by a canal in East London, Ellie is afraid. But she soon thinks there's something more disturbing about the pub than just its setting.

Something is going on at the weekly music night and Ellie and new friend, Flo are determined to find out what, despite warnings to back off. The music night is clearly a smokescreen for something, but what?

Bundled from country to country on a harrowing journey from a tiny Chinese village with the false promise of a better life in England, Song Fang Yin knows the truth. If she can escape her captors, she could help Ellie expose it.

Genres: Thriller

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2006

About the author

Bernard Ashley lives in Charlton, south east London, only a street or so from where he was born. He was educated at the Roan School, Blackheath and Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Rochester. After National Service in the RAF Bernard trained to teach at Trent Park College of Education, specializing in Drama. He followed this with an Advanced Diploma at the Cambridge Institute and has been awarded honorary Doctorates in Education by the University of Greenwich and in letters by the University of Leicester. During his career as a teacher he worked in Kent, Hertfordshire, Newham and Greenwich, with thirty years of headships in the last three.

He is now writing full time. His first novel, The Trouble with Donovan Croft (recently re-issued by OUP), was published in 1974 and won the 'Other' Award, an alternative to the Carnegie Medal (for which he has been shortlisted three times). Nineteen further novels have followed, gaining him a reputation as a 'gritty' writer in sympathy with the under dog. In Margaret Meek's view he gets inside children's heads, who say that this is what it's like for them.

Of Tiger Without Teeth Philip Pullman wrote in The Guardian:
'A commonplace setting, an everyday situation, ordinary characters. Bernard Ashley's great gift is to turn what seems to be low-key realism into something much stronger and more resonant. It has something to do with empathy, compassion, an undimmed thirst for decency and justice. In a way, Ashley is doing what ‘Play for Today’ used to do when TV was a medium that connected honestly with its own time, and what so few artists do now: using realism in the service of moral concern.'

Johnnie's Blitz (Barn Owl), drew on his wartime experiences as a child in and around London; while Little Soldier (Orchard) sums up his writing: a pacy plot with an emotional turning point, a theme that concerns him, and characters that grip as real people. It was shortlisted for the 'Guardian' young fiction prize and for the Carnegie Medal. His latest novel is Flashpoint - a thriller, the third of the Ben Maddox stories.

Bernard’s picture books include Double the Love (Carol Thompson illustrating) from Orchard, Growing Good (Bloomsbury), Cleversticks, and A Present for Paul (Harper Collins). Tamarind published The Bush, illustrated by Lynne Willey. His popular stories for young readers include Dinner Ladies Don't Count (Puffin), Justin and the Demon Drop Kick, and I'm Trying to Tell You (both Happy Cat).

Television work has included Running Scared (from which he wrote the novel), The Country Boy (BBC) and his adaptation of his own Dodgem which won the Royal Television Society award as the best children's entertainment of its year.

Stage plays are The Old Woman Who Lived in A Cola Can (Edinburgh Festival and tour), The Secret of Theodore Brown (Unicorn Theatre for Children in the West End), and Little Soldier (published by Heinemann).

A strong family man, Bernard is married to Iris Ashley, a former London headteacher, and they have three sons. Their eldest, Chris, also a headteacher, co-wrote with Bernard the TV series Three Seven Eleven (Granada), and his latest "Wasim" books were published in 2007 by Frances Lincoln. David is a London headteacher and an expert on children's reading; and Jonathan is an actor, writer and director whose writing for theatre includes Stiffs; and who was writer and voice director in Los Angeles and London on Primal and Ghosthunter for Playstation 2.

Bernard and Iris have four grandchildren, Paul, Carl, Rosie and Luke.

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, it was very different to anything I have ever read.
It detailed the story of an underground network of criminals in London from the point of view of many involved in the story. Mainly Ellie, the daughter of the land-lord of the pub key to the criminal's activity, but unaware of the true nature of the crimes going on.
It was written well, and the pacing was excellent. However, I only give it four because I did find the jealousy storyline with Ellie a bit tedious as to how it played out.
However, I would highly recommend it if someone was looking for something different in the thriller/young adult genre.

[Santiago Giorgi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book "Smokescreen" by Bernard Ashley is a shadowy tale about people-smuggling into Britain all the way from China. The story begins when Ellie Searle has to move to East London in order to allow her father Chris (ex-footballer), to run his own pub called Regent's Arms after the death of her mother. As soon as Ellie arrives to her new home, she becomes aware a new kind of vibe which definitely feels suspicious. This atmosphere grows even more on Friday evenings when Ivy Stardust (Singer), performs for the pub's audience. Every evening when Ivy sings, Ellie notices that speakers are always set up yet are never use. At this point, Ellie suspects that the speakers are used for cigarette smuggling but unfortunately something much more grim was occurring. As Ellie's tale goes on, we learn about Song Fang Yin, a young promising lady from a small Chinese town with the false promise of a better life in England. If Song Fang Yin is able to escape her captors, she could help Ellie expose the truth.

I personally have read better books in my life but it was good read anyways. The book was too serious for my liking and didn't give me anything to look forward to while reading. However, the book made me think about the world in a whole new way and made me realize about the dangers that confront us. Unfortunately, it wasn't the book for me but could definitely be the other way around for another reader. Therefore, I recommend this book to advanced 8th grade readers and 9th graders as it has difficult word choice and difficult to understand. If this genre is your type, then "Smokescreen" will be an electrifying thriller and a fun read.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatively short book with a easy to get through plot. I found Song's parts much more interesting than that of Ellie's. On one hand, we had Ellie doing some trivial 'back-stabbing' at her friend, nothing much going on, and then for Song's bit we had her being smuggled into a claustrophobic space while she heard a man weeping for his wife's kidnapping.

I was slightly unhappy with the ending as well, only because I love conclusive endings. I really wanted to know what became of Song and her accomplices. Realistically, probably not such a bright future.

All in all, I enjoyed the book, although it felt empty at parts.