Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the thrilling first installment in a new series of adventure mystery stories that are one part travel, one part history and five parts adventure. This first book of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series introduces Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations.

After leaving her home in the western Canadian fishing village of Tofino to spend the summer in Alaska studying humpback whales Kitty finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, ghostly shipwrecks, and bone-chilling curses. Kitty’s adventure begins with the lingering mystery of a sunken ship called the Clara Nevada and as the plot continues to unfold this spirited story will have armchair explorers and amateur detectives alike anxiously following every twist and turn as they are swept along through the history of the Klondike Gold Rush to a suspenseful final climactic chase across the rugged terrain of Canada’s Yukon, the harsh land made famous in the stories and poems of such writers as Jack London, Robert Service and Pierre Berton. It is a riveting tale that brings to glorious life the landscape and history of Alaska’s inside passage and Canada’s Yukon, as Kitty is caught up in an epic mystery set against the backdrop of the scenery of the Klondike Gold Rush.

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is a perfect book to fire the imagination of readers of all ages. Filled with fascinating and highly Google-able locations and history this book will inspire anyone to learn and experience more for themselves as Kitty prepares for her next adventure – flying around the world!

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the first part in a globe-trotting action and adventure series from author Iain Reading. The story follows teenage seaplane pilot Kitty Hawk on her summer adventure to document the humpback whales in the waters of Alaska. The intrepid young pilot takes her de Haviland Beaver from a small Canadian town and heads north where she spends her summer days flying over the coastal waters filming and photographing the movements of the sea mammals, and working with local fishing and sightseeing boats to mutual benefit. She learns a lot about the area through her time here, especially about the Klondike gold rush of the late 1800s.
During the summer Kitty spots the whales on a number of flights, but also spots something amiss. A small boat puttering in and out of the area sitting far lower in the water than any other boat of its size should or would. This coupled with stories of a gold heist from a local resident fuel Kitty’s imagination and curiosity leading to her tracking down the boat.

What ensues is a failed recon attempt on the occupants of the boat in their makeshift campsite, clearly in possession of the gold, and her ultimate kidnap. This leads to a trek into the Alaskan wilderness through forests, up slopes and through the mountains to the border with Canada. The story runs the full range of emotions; fear, anger, hatred, frustration all feature in the young pilot, until she slowly begins to get to know her captors. Are they truly evil, or merely misunderstood?

Over the remainder of the book, Iain Reading takes us on the real adventure. A tale of deception, double crossing and family lies and histories entwining to up the ante and ratchet the excitement to a new level. In the early stages of the book I found myself mildly irritated by the character of Kitty thanks to her teenage exuberance that felt a little to sickly-sweet, but as the story progressed I found her sense of adventure infectious and found myself rooting for her throughout. Wider characters, including the kidnappers are well developed and believable. The other element that worked so well is the sense of adventure Reading creates, and the well-described locales make for fun reading. As book one in a series, this really sets up what is to come very well, if this is anything to go by, the rest of the series looks set to be brilliant!

My rating