By Phoebe McArthur

ISBN 9780648815440

RRP: $17.99

Published by Eagle Books, an imprint of Christmas Press, July 2021

About the book:

Charlotte Chaplin is a city girl. She’s cool and stylish and her best friend is Sarah, the Prime Minister’s daughter. Her life is perfect.

That is until her parents get divorced and Charlie is dragged to the sleepy town of Gulgong in the middle of nowhere. 

There’s nothing to do — or so Charlie thinks. Things start to heat up when she makes an unlikely friend: Ruby, the daughter of a man wanted for burglary.

Charlie and Ruby, with a little technological aid and some friends in high places, must catch the real thief and clear Ruby’s dad’s name before he’s sent to gaol.

A lively, fast-paced mystery with vivid characters and an atmospheric country town setting.

About the author:

Phoebe McArthur lives in a run-down, yet cosy cottage in the middle of nowhere.

She’s not at all lonely thanks to her four cats, three chooks, two guinea pigs and her extensive library.

If she’s not tipping cats off her lap as she writes stories, she’s cooking all sorts of yummy food, such as scones with extra cream and homemade blackberry jam, or doing art at the table near the window, which has the best view of her garden. 

Her first book, Lucy Newton, Little Witch, a popular chapter-book for younger readers, was short listed for the 2019 Speech Pathology Awards.

Charlie Chaplin: The Usual Suspect is her first middle-grade novel.

Selected reviews:

Sometimes life heads in strange directions. 12 year-old Charlotte Chaplin (aka Charlie, or occasionally Lottie) used to live in the city near Kirribilli, but since her parents’ sudden separation her life is on a freefall. She is moving to the country with her mother and leaving her best friend, who also happens to be the Prime Minister’s daughter. Instead she will have to adjust to the quiet and slow life in Gulgong in Central NSW. On arrival she almost immediately becomes involved in a crime mystery and discovers unlikely friends and realises that country life may not be so bad after all. This book has been written in the style of a Trixie Belden mystery –  a young girl who can solve problems and crimes with only the help of other kids. It will appeal to young readers who love a mystery story. Although there are moments that seem a little contrived and improbable, younger readers will be able to take the leaps over the unbelievable moments.  Recommended for readers aged 10-14. (Read Plus, July 23, 2021)