Agent Zaiba Investigates, The Poison Plot by Annabelle Sami

It was so wonderful to be back solving crime with Agent Zaiba and her friends and family.  Since solving her first crime, she is now in charge of the Snow Leopard Detective Agency- UK Office and it is well deserved.  She is clever, cautious and has superb instincts.  

The school fete has arrived and Zaiba has created a Detective trail as an activity- ensuring she has checked all the clues, the path to follow and ensured nothing can go wrong.  What she doesn't expect is an actual case needing to be solved- though she is always on the hunt for new cases and suspicious characters.

During the popular bake off, one of the judges- the new headmistress- gets poisoned.  One of the cupcakes must have had poison in the icing- but who would want to poison the new headmistress?  Was she the actual intended victim?  With so many questions to ask, Zaiba must face facts and solve the mystery as her father and Aunt Raim were 2 of the 3 bakers in the tent.  She needs to solve the mystery to ensure their innocence.  It won't be easy but she, brother Ali and best friend Poppy have plenty of tricks up their sleeves.  They also recruit two new members, cousin Mariam and son of the third baker, Gabriele.  

With a cast full of brilliant characters and plenty of action, twists and turns, this second in the series is a welcome distraction from real life.  One of my favourite parts of the book is "I trust the children of our school completely. She paused and gazed at Zaiba.  This young detective is an especially bright student.  I would like to hear her findings.  Our children's voices are as important as our own"  

I love that the headmistress, though feeling quite ill after the poisoning, is confident in Zaiba and her skills.  

With a confidence beyond her years, Zaiba lays out all the evidence and finds not only the culprit but the type of poison as well.  Nothing gets past Zaiba!

With a glimpse at the titles of Book 3 I am thrilled to see more from Agent Zaiba.