- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 9–12
- Mystery
Montgomery Bonbon: Sabotage at Sea
Book 4 in Montgomery BonbonView the full series
Bonbon and Grampa Banks board a luxury cruise for a holiday, but suspicious accidents, a sabotaged firework display and a dead captain mean the detective is very much back on duty.
- Best for9–12
- FormatIllustrated
- Length288 pp
- Read aloud~4 hr5 min
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The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Conversational
Tone
- Funny
- Whimsical
- Cosy
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Bonbon and Grampa Banks are enjoying a well-earned holiday aboard a glamorous cruise ship, until a run of suspicious accidents starts to threaten the voyage. Passengers panic, the crew descends into chaos, and it soon looks less like bad luck and more like deliberate sabotage. When the grand firework display is tampered with and Captain Roger Valancourt is found dead, Bonnie glues on her moustache once more and, as the great Montgomery Bonbon, sets about working out who among the ship's passengers and crew is behind the mayhem, before the saboteur strikes again. Alasdair Beckett-King's fourth Bonbon mystery trades solid ground for the enclosed, everyone-trapped-together tension of a ship at sea, with Claire Powell's illustrations bringing the floating cast to life. It's another fair-play whodunit packed with jokes, misdirection and satisfying deduction, ideal for readers who like their murders bloodless and their detectives in disguise.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
Pitched at independent readers of about 9-12, and enjoyable read aloud to 7-10s who like following a puzzle. The peril is light and the deaths comic rather than frightening, so sensitive mystery fans are well catered for.
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- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 7–10
- Independent · 8–11
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
High
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Mystery fans
- Funny stories
- Detective stories
- Cosy mysteries
Avoid if
- Wants gritty realism
- Dislikes puzzles
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
A glamorous cruise ship where the accidents aren't accidents, the fireworks are rigged and the captain ends up dead is a brilliant trap for a mystery, because the culprit can't get off the boat. Watching Bonbon out-think a whole shipful of suspects is a thrill.
- Being a detective
- Trickery and cleverness
- Having a wise mentor
Why parents love it
Setting the fourth case on a ship at sea tightens the screws nicely: a closed circle of suspects and nowhere to run. It's as witty and fairly clued as ever, with short, illustrated chapters that keep momentum for readers who might balk at a longer book.
- Shared humour
- Great writing
- Quick to read
In the series
Montgomery Bonbon.
5 books · open the series →
About the creators
About the creators.
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