Inspired by the tunnels that do actually exist beneath Balmain, The Tunnels of Tarcoola is a wholesome, page turning, spine-tingling adventure novel. With echoes of the brilliance of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, minus the lashings of ginger beer and cucumber sandwiches, Jennifer Walsh has brought this genre bang up to date for a modern audience.
Meet Andrea, David, Kitty and Martin who are launched in to an adventure which has many twists and turns when they innocently discover a network of tunnels. Leading from the beach, under the park and towards an abandoned mansion where the real mysteries lie this is an adventure story which will grab the attention of its reader! When the town launches a campaign to prevent the old mansion from being torn down and Kitty interviews the old mistress of the mansion for a school project – all signs point to the need for the four friends to do something … and fast!
Within the space of this novel each of the four main characters are incredibly well developed, each having their own sub story. Consequently Jennifer Walsh has skilfully created interest and empathy – the diversity meaning that most readers will relate to at least one of the characters.
Jennifer Walsh effortlessly weaves in themes such as the treatment of Jews during the Second World War which is dealt with in a delicate and informative manner.
Leave a Reply