Sophie McKenzie - All My Secrets - Book Review (Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books)

We have a brand new title from the bestselling, award-winning author, Sophie McKenzie. This book will intrigue you as a reader and deliver a hatful of surprises, as always. Sophie entertains us with a different tale and writing, but in her trademark style, which is fantastic. However, I don't feel that this is her best book to date. As always though, I never know what to expect from Sophie as she is such a diverse writer encompassing all ages. 

What I do expect is a great story and here is another......
The preface for this book is a 10 million pound inheritance from a woman called Irina Galloway. Evie wants to know who Irina is, and why she has been given this money. However, the discovery soon turns Evie Brown's world on its head. This is the start of a mysterious ride of self discovery when Evie finds out some hard hitting truths from her parents. 

Turning detective, she uncovers the mystery benefactor, a bucket load of unanswered questions and finds herself on the Scottish Island of Lightsea searching for answers. Catapulted into danger - the story brings a crashing wave of tension and suspense which, in my opinion, is what the author does best. 

A thrilling storm is whipped up full of mystery and a dark edge tone, which will have you riding the wave of ghostly appearances and spooky mayhem. This is fantastically clever, well constructed, very engaging and is probably the best part of the book. 

The early part of the setting connected with me in a special way. It really brought back my time staying on Rose Street (Edinburgh) making the plot feel very realistic. I could see and smell the flat, as well as hear the pedestrians slapping up and down the busy street. It brought back a vibe and so many happy memories. The book explores some emotionally charged topics which will make you think and help you to relate to modern teenage life. 

The writing is concise uncovering revelations and some dark secrets that will rock you to the core.  I really loved Evie as she is a normal and realistic teenage girl. Although, I would have perhaps liked to have seen more teenage angst pumped into the character's personality. Nevertheless she is very strong willed and a natural born fighter which I really took to in a big way.  

I had no problem following this story; pure escapism for me. Whilst this story is specifically aimed at teenagers, I feel a younger audience (10 years+) would especially devour and love this book, in my opinion. The book ties together all of the loose knots in a satisfactory and climatic way, which suggests that it is a standalone book with no other book to follow.    

I would definitely recommend The Medusa Project series by Sophie McKenzie; these are some of my all time personal favourite books. 

Published by Simon & Schuster Children's Books (2 July 2015)