The London Eye Mystery

The London Eye Mystery is a children's mystery novel by English author Siobhan Dowd. First published in 2007, it tells the story of how Ted, a boy with Asperger syndrome solves the mystery of how his cousin Salim seemingly vanishes from inside a sealed capsule on the London Eye. It was Dowd's second children's novel and won six awards ^[1], including the School Library Journal Best Books of the Year Award 2008.

Plot summary

The story of The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd begins when Aunt Gloria visits Ted's family home with her son Salim, a half-Indian boy who is the same age as Ted. Many people with Asperger syndrome have interests of intense focus. Ted has a fascination with the weather, while Salim appears to have a similar condition, involving a fascination for large buildings, although it is never confirmed whether Salim also has Asperger syndrome.

Salim says that he "loves the large structures in London" and seems especially captivated by the old Barracks building, which is on the same street as Ted's home. The next day, Salim, Ted and his older sister Kat decide to take a ride on the London Eye, bemoaning the hour-long queues. When a stranger approaches them with a ticket for the Eye, claiming that he is afraid of small spaces and cannot ride on the Eye, they decide to give the ticket to Salim as he has never had a ride on the Eye before. Salim climbs into the Eye at 11:32, waving at his cousins as the Eye ascends. Half an hour later, Salim's capsule lands. Kat and Ted start forward to collect Salim, but cannot find him.

When Aunt Gloria and Ted's mother find out, they are extremely angry at Kat for allowing Salim to take a ticket from a stranger. That evening, the two siblings examine Salim's camera and decide to have it developed in case the photographs hold clues. Then the family receives a phone call from the police, saying that a boy of Salim's age and description has been found dead. Ted's father travels to the hospital morgue to see the body, but reports that is not Salim. The next day, Kat, Ted and their father (who works with a demolition company) visit the chemist's to have the photographs developed. They then ride on the London Eye to see if there was any way that Salim could have hidden in the capsule or avoided getting out. They uncover no clues, but line up for the souvenir photograph at the end of the journey anyway.

When they arrive home, Ted and Kat examine the newly developed photographs and gain only one clue; the stranger who gave them the ticket is in the background of one of the photographs, wearing a t-shirt with writing on it. The writing says "ONTLI ECUR", which they soon work out that some letters are missed off and it is saying 'FRONTLINE SECURITY' a security company which is currently at work within a local motorbike exhibition. Kat goes to attend the exhibition, and Ted soon works out where she has gone and follows her. They soon find the stranger who sold them the ticket, but he simply avoids their questions, denying any connection with Salim's disappearance.

Ted then figures out how Salim managed to leave the London Eye without being noticed and calls the police. The police arrive with Marcus, a friend of Salim's, who confesses to helping Salim to escape. Marcus had bought two tickets for the same capsule, using one himself and convincing his brother to pose as a claustrophobic man who would give his ticket to Salim, pretending not to know him. Salim, who knew the plan, pretended not to know Marcus' brother and entered the same capsule as Marcus, who was dressed as a teenage girl. When the others in the capsule lined up for the souvenir photo, Salim and Marcus swapped outfits, however there was a coat jacket sleeve in one of the pictures and that was how Ted worked out that the girl who left the pod was in fact Salim now dressed as a female. Once they left the capsule, Salim and Marcus spent the day together and separated at Euston London Underground station. That was the last time that Marcus saw Salim. Ted then deduces that Salim is in the old Barracks because he showed such a fascination with it the day that he arrived. Eventually, they find Salim in the old Barracks Building which was going to be demolished the next day. Salim eventually agrees to fly to New York with his mother, Aunt Gloria, to try it out for 6 months.

Awards and nominations

The London Eye Mystery won several awards, including the Book Sense Children's Pick List Award 2008 ^[2], the School Library Journal Best Books of the Year Award 2008 ^[3], the Booklist Children's Editors' Choice Award 2008 ^[4], the Horn Book Fanfare Award 2008 ^[5], the Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books Award ^[6] and the Book Links Lasting Connection Award 2008 ^[7].

References