The Kidnap Plot is book one in the series The Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie for middle grade readers by Dave Butler. Butler takes the reader on a great adventure through a steampunk/fantasy London in the Victorian era. I received a copy of The Kidnap Plotfrom the author for review purposes.Charlie Pondicherry is a boy who is small for his age and lives with his father in White Chapel. His bap (dad) doesn’t like him to go out much because he is worried about Charlie’s safety. Then when his bap is kidnapped by the Sinister Man, Charlie has to figure out a way to rescue his dad and a grand adventure ensues.
Charlie gets the help from Henry Clockswain (his bap's business partner who’s a kobold), Bob and Ollie (two young chimney sweeps with their own secrets), Mr. Grumblesson (a troll lawgiver), and Natalie de Minimis (a pixie in line to become the baroness). This unlikely crew of adventurers work together, for their own ends and to help Charlie and his dad, Mr. Pondicherry.
Together, they hunt down the clues to solve the multi-leveled mystery involving the kidnapping: who is the Sinister Man, why did he call Mr. Pondicherry Dr. Singh, what is the Iron Cog, and who is the Anti-human league?
This leads them into political intrigue within the pixie court, battles with rats, and dealing with the gang side of the city. We get to see the richness of the creations steampunk settings are known for along the way.
Setting
Dave Butler creates a grand mystery in a steampunk setting with mythical creatures and magical elements. The mixture of historical facts with the fiction provides a place where the fantastic seems to fit in better than the reality ever did.
The adventure moves along through different neighborhoods of London where Charlie has new experiences. There are policemen riding zebras, and vehicles running on steam or being drawn by the likes of rhinoceroses, elephants, and even horses.
The descriptions take the reader into a realm of make believe where everything comes together with the past and the present to create a place for extraordinary adventures to take place.
Characters
Without giving away the twists set in the story, I will say the characters are well thought out and each has their own story hanging in the wings. We are given bits and pieces from beginning to end for the movement of each of the character.
Charlie learns he is a mechanical boy—I don’t think this is a spoiler based on the title and the cover art. Along with his own discoveries he learns something about each of his new friends and what they are working to accomplish in their own lives.
I have always enjoyed rich sideline characters in a book and The Kidnap Plot has them.
The Writing
The Kidnap Plot contains interwoven storylines. The presentations are easy enough to be followed by younger readers. They’re not so complex where your younger readers will be wondering what is happening. However, they are deep enough to stimulate conversation about what they are reading.
I recommend parents read the book with their younger readers, or read it first. This is not because of any questionable content. I really do think there is enough in here where children will want to talk about what is happening.
There are plenty of clues to provide the foreshadowing of the turns that take place. The story is for younger readers, and the language works well for the age group. However, The Kidnap Plot is written with more than just the younger readers in mind. It is written so more experienced readers, who understand more about foreshadowing, story arcs, and character arcs, have another level of enjoyment.
Overall
I highly recommend The Kidnap Plot by Dave Butler. Here is a book that is target for middle grade that can be enjoyed by all ages. There is enough fun in the story to keep younger readers and enough story for the older ones.
The characters are intriguing and each has their own story that could be told.
I give it 4 ½ out of 5.
The Kidnap Plot was first published in 2016 and is a Borzoi book published by Alfred A. Knopf (Random House).
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