Paul Moxham

[Liam]

I did a search on this site but could not find any reference to this author. I've read the first of his Mystery books and find it quite like Enid Blyton. Maybe not most like the Famous Five where the characters are so fully developed, but like the Adventurous Four books where the plot overshadows the characters.

Here is his Amazon page - you can get some of his stories for free:

http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Moxham/e/B00 ... sr=8-2-ent" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Carlotta King]

I've got The Mystery Of Smuggler's Cove on my kindle but I haven't got round to reading it. I thought the synopsis sounded good, set in the 1950s, and featuring, of course, a smugglers' cove (anything to do with smugglers, wreckers and caves and I'm hooked!!).

I'll let you all know what I thought of it when I get chance to read it!

[Fiona1986]

The four books in the Mystery Series are free on Amazon kindle until the 9th of June, as well as two of the short stories. Have just downloaded them all.

[Moonraker]

Thanks, Fiona; I have downloaded the ones I haven't already got.

[Fiona1986]

Well, I read the first book yesterday and I thought it was pretty dire really. The writing was very 'bitty' and didn't flow well, it was all "They did this. They looked at that. The next morning they went..." It felt like the author was afraid of wasting a single word anywhere and so kept everything as brief as possible. The children come down stairs one morning "just in time to see their father off as he had been called away suddenly." And that's it, the book jumps on. They could have done with one less failed escape/rescue/boat ride and a bit more depth to everything else.

The characters were fairly flat, the girls Amy and Sarah were really interchangeable and the boys were the same unless it mentioned Will knew the area better and would get his Dad. There's little banter, chat or other dialogue that isn't "let's go look in the caves." "Oh look there's a tunnel." "I think the crooks might have gone the other way." I couldn't tell you one single thing about the children apart from their names and ages, their clothes are never described, neither are their hobbies and they lack distinct personalities.

It's said at the start that it's set in the 50s but apart from the lack of mobile phones I couldn't see any other clues that it was set then, the dialogue was much more modern sounding.

So yes, a big disappointment. It borrowed heavily from Blyton of course. The house was very Owls Dene - the levers to open the gate, the high walls, the criminal called Ro(o)ky. There was also one called Jake, a name Blyton used for many crooks. Then the secret passages/caves which were very Spiggy Holes.

I'm not sure I can even be bothered to read the rest after that, thank god they were free or I'd be sore about wasting money. And I know an adult's perspective is different but I've read several children's books lately (The Cherrys to the Rescue - Will Scott, The Red Flower Mystery - Juliet Marais Louw, Dangerous Deadline - Mildred Benson, A Mystery for Ninepence - Phyllis Geganm, some Nancy Drews, Noddy and some of the Mystery Islands by Helen Moss) and although I can objectively point out some flaws I enjoyed them.

If you want a great 1950s adventure or mystery, stick with Blyton or one of her contemporaries. If you want a more modern story try the Helen Moss books. Paul Moxham's is somewhere in between those two but doesn't capture the best of either world!

[Poppy]

I was debating about getting one of these books on my Kindle as they remind me (the titles alone!) a lot of Enid Blyton.

I've read several children's books lately...the Mystery Islands by Helen Moss...

I have read some of these lately (sorry - this might be going off topic a little) and I have been quite disappointed with them. So far I have read two: The Mystery of the Midnight Ghost & The Mystery of the Vanishing Skeleton and have found the plots quite disappointing and far-fetched (though the overal idea is usually very interesting and has much potential) and the characters quite similar to those of Enid Blyton's books. However, I do like the setting - Castle Key: it is a nice, unique place for the stories to be set.

Numerous things in these stories reminded of Blyton stories:

a) The characters - Scott (reminds me of Julian) - sensible, 'the leader', and a little bossy. Jack - (reminds me of Dick). He's the one who's always joking around and having a laugh. Emily's personality reminds me of George/Georgina - never wants to be left out of anything, etc. And she's got a dog called Drift. Despite this, the characters are no where near as likable or as well-described as 'Enid's version'.

b) The detecting - in The Mystery of the Midnight Ghost the children go and ask someone who works at a Manor for some clues or something and this reminded me rather of what the Find-Outers would do (use an excuse to inquire).

c) General - The children also (in the same book) do down to the Manor House in the dark in the middle of the night for some 'detecting'. They also go on a lot of bike-rides, spend a lot of time the the Cafe.

d) Homes - Emily lives at Castle Key (like George lives at Kirrin) and Scott and Jack come and stay with their Aunt.

Things that let the books down for me too was the overload of modern speech, etc, squashed into the text for seemingly no reason. 'Facebook' was regularly referred too and mobile phones (though of course this kept the consistent contact between the children). Anyway, sorry to go off topic.

[Fiona1986]

Interesting to see your thoughts Poppy. I found some of the modern dialogue a bit jarring, and a little out-dated sounding even! On saying that I find them a decent enough read and at least the characters have personality!

I'm sure in the second (or maybe it was the third) book the boys say "this would never have happened to the Famous Five!"

[Poppy]

Yes - that was right! I think it was in The Mystery of the Midnight Ghost Jack stated "This would never have happened to the Famous Five!" when they were looking for footprints outside a window where it was concrete ground!

[Jack400]

Well, now I don't feel so bad about missing the free download deadline.
Jack

[Fiona1986]

Glad to be of service!

[pete9012S]

Smugglers Cove - preview.

Chapter 1: Smugglers Cove The bicycle skidded to a halt as Joe Mitchell stopped beside a huge oak tree. His slim frame rocked forward, causing a lock of brown hair to fall into his eyes. He glanced back at his two sisters who were still pedalling furiously. Grinning broadly, he called out to them. “I told you I’d win!” “Well, your legs are much longer than ours,” Sarah panted. “Next time we race, Amy and I need a head start to make it fair.” Only eight years old, she was the younger of Joe’s two siblings and had short blonde hair. “Hey, look!” Joe exclaimed as he caught sight of a large house in the distance. “Let’s check out that old place. It looks interesting.” They headed down a dirt road and, a minute later, found themselves in front of two big, steel gates. At the end of a long, overgrown driveway was a three-storey mansion. “I wonder who lives there,” Amy said. “It looks terribly old.” The curious ten year old twirled a strand of her brown hair around her finger. “I bet nobody does,” Sarah said, her green eyes filled with doubt. “Look at all those weeds and bushes everywhere. If someone lived there, wouldn’t they keep the garden tidy?” “Let’s see if the gates are open,” Joe said. Like many twelve-year-old boys, he was always on the lookout for an adventure, and this place looked very intriguing. He tried to open the gates, but they didn’t budge. “Help me, you two.” The girls threw their bicycles on the grass and joined Joe in trying to move the rusty gates but they had no luck. “I wonder what this place is called,” Joe muttered as he stepped back and glanced around. “Chandler Manor!” Amy exclaimed triumphantly a moment later. She pointed to an old metal nameplate attached to the gatepost. “Yes, that’s right,” a cheery voice said from behind them. The children spun around and saw a boy of about Joe’s age with flaming red hair. His freckles and cheeky smile gave him a goofy look, but he looked as though he would be fun to have as a friend. “My name’s Will,” the boy said. “Actually, it’s William, but most people call me Will.” He glanced at the three of them. “You’re new here, aren’t you? I haven’t seen you around Smugglers Cove before.” “We just arrived yesterday,” Joe said. “We’re staying at Rose Cottage. It’s a little place on the cliff overlooking the cove.”
“What a coincidence,” Will said. “That’s where my father and I stayed while we were looking for a house to buy. “Have you got the bedroom with the skylight?” Joe grinned. “Yes, it’s fantastic.” “There was a fire at our house,” Sarah piped up. “That’s why we came here.” “Were you there at the time?” Will asked. “No, it happened while we were at school,” Amy said. “The house was too badly damaged to stay in, so our parents decided to rent a place here for the summer holidays. It’s a lot smaller than Danfield, though.” “Hey, isn’t that in London?” Will said. “Yes, but how did you know?” Joe asked. Will grinned. “We used to live quite close to Danfield.” “Why did you move here?” Amy asked. “My dad wanted some peace and quiet so he could write his novels,” Will said, “so we moved here after the war ended.” Joe turned back towards Chandler Manor. “Does anyone live here?” Will shook his head. “No. The owner died five years ago, just after we moved in.” “It looks very mysterious. I wouldn’t mind exploring it,” Joe said. “If you want to do some exploring, I know just the place,” Will said. “Have you heard anything about the history of Smugglers Cove?” “No, do tell us,” Amy said.....

I've just got round to reading my free copy of Smugglers Cove.I've had it for ages now.
Here's a sample of the first page or two to see if it interests anyone else..

[db105]

I have read The Mystery of Smugglers Cove (Mystery Series book #1) by Paul Moxham.

I so much wanted to like this and find a new author to recapture the magic of Enid Blyton... And there are elements of it, but it didn't quite work for me as I would have liked, because of some of the things Fiona mentioned some posts ago.

My review:

As an Enid Blyton fan, I love this idea. The concept of a group of children living adventures and solving mysteries during a more innocent time, before the internet and smartphones, is sound. There's no reason why there shouldn't be more books of this kind.

Having said that, what Enid Blyton does may seem simple, but it's not easy. That's the reason she was so successful and her books are still in print after so many decades. Paul Moxham does some good things to recover the spirit of Blyton's work, but he falls short in some ways.

His main characters are too generic. If you look at Enid Blyton's best series, they have some memorable characters. She is no Dostoevsky, but her characters are clearly defined. You know who they are, and how they are likely to react. They have a group dynamic that makes sense because each of them plays a defined role. When you read one of her books, it's like meeting old friends again, because you feel you know those characters. You know what makes them tick. Here, I couldn't tell you in what ways Will and Joe's personalities differ. They are just generic heroic children who do heroic things. They don't have any kind of friction among themselves.

The story is fast paced. Very fast paced. Frantic. Dangerous things are happening all the time. Fast. Some readers will love that. Personally, I really appreciate the quiet moments in Enid Blyton's books. Before the adventure begins, we get a lot of flavor, building the setting and giving us nice character moments. Then, when the adventure begins, I appreciate it more because of the contrast with the quiet parts. Here, it's so fast that it kind of overwhelms you. At least that's me; your mileage may vary.

One thing that I did not like is that the children were not just daring. They were completely reckless. They searched the bad guys' house several times. With the bad guys inside. They risked drowning and several kind of death with no instinct of self-preservation. That made it difficult for me to suspend disbelief.

On the other hand, we have caves, tunnels, smugglers, exploration, escapes, overheard conversations, captures... how can my inner child not enjoy that? Unlike in the much older Enid Blyton's books, where the boys tend to have the most dangerous parts, here the girls have their fair share of heroic moments. Even though they are set in the 50s it's noticeable that they have been written with more modern sensitivities.

[Fiona1986]

In the four years since I posted that review I have forgotten every single detail of the book(s). I couldn't even tell you if I read more than one but my following comment suggests I did. Shows you how good it/they were if they've completely disappeared from my memory!

[Moonraker]

My memory is much worse than Fiona's, yet I do remember that I enjoyed reading the book! Couldn't tell you anything about it, though.