Agent Zaiba Investigates: The Missing Diamonds

Agent Zaiba Investigates: The Missing Diamonds is about a group of friends (Zaiba, Poppy and Ali) who never give up. Their mission was to identify the VIP guest, then to track down the missing dog and diamond collar and finally to discover who took the dog and why!  Zaiba, her brother (Ali, who truly knows it all) and Poppy (her best friend who loves fashion) attend a mendi party - a party that happens before a wedding - located in the function hall of the Royal Star Hotel. Until they start to investigate and then they could not stop! Would they discover the identity of the VIP? Would they track down the dog and its missing collar? Would they work out who took the dog and why?  If you want answers, read Agent Zaiba Investigates: The Missing Diamonds. I liked how the group never gave up even if they had to.

Suggested Reading Age 7+

This book has to be one of the best I have ever read. This is because it was a very gripping mystery, which pulled you in further with every page you turned. I also enjoyed trying to solve the mystery along with the protagonists - Zaiba, Poppy and Ali - and it was quite difficult, which made it fun. There was a variety of characters: some nice, some stern or mean and some with a hard shell but soft on the inside. It was nice to get to know these different characters. My favourite character was Zaiba because she is always pushing her friends to be the best detectives they can be as she is also a very kind and caring girl. This book is definitely a mystery as the name suggests, and a great one at that. There are some illustrations but not many because it wants you to imagine what the different places and rooms look like. This book made me feel like I was right there with Zaiba and her budding detectives solving the crime. I rate this book 5/5 and recommend it to anyone who fancies solving a mystery.

Suggested Reading Age 7+

This book is a very funny and energetic book that really made me think through all the clues and it really fitted together, so I think it was well-written. I really loved it and it switched on my detective instincts, so I got all good detective vibes while reading it.

Suggested Reading Age 7+

I would give Agent Zaiba a 5/5 because it is funny and adventurous. I would recommend this book to children age 8-11. Zaiba and her brother (Ali) and her best friend (Poppy) work as a team to solve crimes. They want to be the world's best detectives. Will their dreams come true?

Suggested Reading Age 7+

Agent Zaiba is an amazing detective story about a girl called Zaiba who dreams of being the world's greatest detective. She runs into her first crime, with the help of her best friend (Poppy)and her little brother (Ali). Will they solve this mystery? I would rate it 5/5.

Suggested Reading Age 7+

This is a new, fun and action-packed detective mystery with a fabulously enthusiastic and determined young central character - Agent Zaiba. Zaiba has inherited her mum and aunt's love of crime solving and fully intends in follow in Aunt Fouzia's sleuthing footsteps (she owns Karachi's top detective agency The Snow Leopard Detective Agency). She's learning the skills and secrets of a super sleuthing top class detective but still often finds herself rushing headlong into the action (and into trouble!).

At her cousin's Mehndi party, Zaiba very quickly puts herself at the heart of a dramatic case of a disappearing diamond-collared dog! Add in a celebrity owner and some very suspicious hotel staff, and Zaiba, her best friend Poppy and younger brother Ali are thrilled to be thrust into detective mode to solve the crime.

There is an absolutely lovely style to this story. It's hugely important that the main character has a Pakistani background and that this is lovingly and joyously created for the reader to immerse themselves in . I loved that Zaiba's modern, blended family are all so individually brought to life; from feisty, curious Zaiba to her clever, attention-to-detail brother Ali and her embarrassing, dancing dad, while the whole Mehndi party of her cousin is vibrantly and richly described.

The marks of the classic detective genre are all put into place in the plot - secret passageways, puzzles to solve (in the form of a labyrinth), glimpses from spyholes and multiple suspects to find the criminal within the crowd.

I found this such an energetic and appealing story with fun and heartwarming characters and can't wait for Agent Zaiba's next case!

256 pages / Ages 8+ / Reviewed by Jenny Caddick, HLTA

Suggested Reading Age 7+