Ollie Spark and the Exploding Popcorn Mystery

Gillian Cross's Ollie Spark and the Exploding Popcorn Mystery is a funny mystery for 8 year olds about a boy who can fix anything and an aunt who never stops to think.

What happens

Ollie's family has one answer to every problem. "Ollie! Fix it!" Blocked sink, a telly that's gone blank, a houseful of wailing little cousins. Everyone turns to Ollie.

Then Aunt Caz wins Best Spy Book of the Year and spends the prize money on a popcorn cannon. Yes, a cannon. She's taking it to a street-food festival on an island, to research her next book, and she wants Ollie to work it.

Ollie watches videos of popcorn cannons late into the night. You heat them over a firepit until the pressure is sky-high, then WHOOSH! And he knows his aunt. The minute she has an idea for her book, she'll forget everything else. So he gives up a camping weekend with his best friend Jin to keep her safe.

The island is a riot of food stalls, fairy lights and brass bands. And the Duchess seems to be in charge of all of it. She arrives with trumpeters, three little poodles and an elephant. She's selling Amazing Knitted Noodles!

Ollie can't stop wondering how anyone could knit a noodle. Wouldn't they dry out and snap? Could there be a machine? That's the joy of Ollie. His brain is always taking something apart to see how it works.

Then breakfast brings a nasty shock. Somebody seems to have stolen some secret recipes. And there's a man in a grey coat who keeps turning up wherever they go...

It's a gentle sort of mystery, more clever than scary, with lots of comedy from Aunt Caz (who is a terrible cook and a menace in a van). Ollie narrates, and he's calm, kind and very practical. Readers who like puzzling things out will be right there with him.

There's a nice friendship thread too. Ollie keeps messaging Jin, who's camping out in the rain to raise money for a disappearing octopus, and you can feel how much he misses him.

What to read next

Gillian Cross also wrote The Demon Headmaster, which has the same kind of clear-eyed child noticing that the grown-ups in charge aren't quite right. It's a little spookier, and perfect as a next step.