Saving Sophia

“You’re never too young for crime – the fictional variety, of course. With Dear Scarlett – and now her latest, Saving Sophia – Fleur Hitchcock (talk about nominative determinism) has cornered the market in hard-boilers for beginners. Nosy Crow, a thriving independent publisher, knows how to make a good-looking jacket. I love the retro jacket and the illustrations within … There is much to like about this pacey story. Lottie is a bright and ballsy character and Sophia a suitably kooky sidekick. Hitchcock is good on why children with problems make things up: Sophia reminded me of Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking, who boasts that her absent sailor father is a “Cannibal King”.”