Ready or Not

A couple of weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of hearing Tracy Darnton speak at the Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival. Hosted by Storyville Books (see Brilliant Bookshops post here), this was a fascinating session about an excellent book.

Millie loves the summer holidays when everyone gathers at Creek House in Cornwall and she gets to spend time with the other kids - Matt, Charlie, Jem and Kat, her best friend. However, this year will be very different as they are all struggling to come to terms with Kat having disappeared during a game of hide and seek the previous summer. Having persuaded the others to join her for one final trip, Millie is seeking closure on the anniversary of Kat’s disappearance- and this might be the last chance to discover what really happened.

Completely compelling, ‘Ready or Not’ is an addictive mystery which keeps the reader guessing to the very end. The story is told from Millie’s viewpoint, both from before and after Kat’s disappearance, allowing intriguing glimpses which piece together the bigger picture of the events surrounding the fateful game of hide and seek. Everyone has their secrets- even Millie. Through her letters to Kat, written on the advice of her counsellor, Millie’s complex relationship with her ‘best friend’ is exposed, revealing tensions and frustrations. Newspaper reports and transcripts of police interviews also allow different perspectives on Kat’s disappearance, scattering clues and potential red herrings which really keep the reader on tenterhooks to the very end.

And the ending is a masterpiece! Tracy cleverly manages a whole array of possibilities and potential suspects right to the final page…and even then, different readers come away with different interpretations of the concluding moments. Pure genius!

Ready or Not Tracy Darnton

Little Tiger ISBN: 978-1788953313

You can read my review of ‘The Rules’ here.