I've just had wonderful day reading `Justin Thyme'. Not only is the lead character a bit of a play on words but so are the rest of his family. Ranging from Henny to Albion and Robyn the names are very clever. The plot revolves around a young boy is a self-made millionaire living in Scotland in a castle, the plan of which is provided on the first few pages. Justin's mother gets kidnapped, his father dramatically remembers events previously forgotten and all the staff from the castle has a role to play in this excellent children's novel.

Clues to the author's real identity are spattered throughout the novel as well as other clues to solve. Even as an adult I couldn't identify the true identity of Panama Oxbridge but I'm sure all will be revealed anyway as time goes on. This novel is the first in a series of four and I am sure I will not be alone in seeking out the other three - if only to find out who wrote them!

The actual website promoting the book is fabulous and well worth a visit, lots to do on there. As far as children's books go, this is great. It's funny, clever and intriguing; a great adventure from beginning to end. I could see elements of other children's adventurers in the name of Artemis Fowl and Alex Rider but I have to say I enjoyed this adventure more. It had the appeal of adult fiction in the way Harry Potter does.

I wish some adult thrillers/adventures would follow the ideas in `Justin Thyme' - once the crime has been solved the footnotes help you work out where the clues were in the novel. Something I could with in adult novels to be honest. The glossaries provided will be excellent for children as they would really help with some of the scientific terms let alone the Scottish dialect.

Apart from the main characters of the story there is Eliza the Gorilla (well actually she really is a main character) and Tybalt the cat which had an `incident' with a spider and now has eight legs! As well as these there is a parrot who quotes Shakespeare continually - fabulous! An endless treat for children with wonderful descriptions the like of which Roald Dahl could've written - the Professor, Butler and Cook are a delight. The ambigrams and illustrations help the novel become more visual for younger readers and make it entertaining for the older generations.

Throughout the book you are told to beware procrastination and I was amused to see this illustrated on the back cover through italics. Other hints and clues are evident and you have to make a decision at the end of the novel to either go straight back and try to find out who the author is amongst other puzzles or just accept in the words of the novel that `everything is connected to everything else'.