Kaspar's Book Reveiw

Conspiracy 365

A book series that I have been enjoying recently is Conspiracy 365.  There are 12 books in the original set with a further five books published later.  The chronological nature of these books means that they need to be read in the correct order for the reader to fully understand the story.  The books are told in a timed stamped format by the main character, Cal Ormond, and each book takes place over a full calendar month.  

“January,” the first of the series begins with Cal being chased down the street by a menacing figure who warns him, “They killed your father.  They’re killing me.”  The prologue sets a frightening  descriptive tone that gets the book off to a heart racing start and it doesn't slow down at any point afterwards.  The author, Gabrielle Lord, has used an interesting technique to keep up the pace of the story and keep the reader wanting to know more.  The book is page numbered in descending order meaning that the reader can feel when the end is near!  In addition the author has used occasional pictures to illustrate things which would be harder to describe in words.  This also seems to make the story feel more believable, as many are hand drawn illustrations on small pieces of ripped or folded notepaper.

As the mystery unfolds, Cal is forced to make some tough decisions about who he should trust - his best friend, Boges, his Uncle Rafe, his mother or sister?  His determination to find out why his father was killed in Ireland only leads him to more questions than he has answers and to people who want to stop him from finding the truth.

This is a nerve racking, thrilling adventure series that pulls the reader in closer with every word.  

“Don’t blink don’t forget to breathe.”

This is my current favourite book and I would highly recommend it to all keen readers 10 and over.  It has all the good features a book should have - good descriptions that paint a picture in your mind and a strong plot that encourages the reader to keep reading.  I don’t think there are too many downsides to the 365 series, but if I had to name one it would that the pace of the book goes quite fast and that I would have liked to see further into some of the other characters’ stories.  Overall I think that this is a strong, heart racing story that is a must read.