Series Review: Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency by Iain Reading!

A few months back, I reviewed the first book in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency, Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold. I really enjoyed it, and you can read my review by clicking here. The author was awesome enough to send me the rest of the books in the series. I'll talk a little about what I liked about each book, but because I read them all in a row, I'm doing a series rating.

I give the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency series:

★★★★

Four stars!


Title: Kitty Hawk and the Hunt for Hemingway's Ghost
Series: Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency #2
Author: Iain Reading
Format: Kindle Edition, 339 pages
Pub. Date: September 10th 2013
Source: Author


Book Description via Goodreads:

Kitty Hawk and the Hunt for Hemingway's Ghost is the exciting second installment in a new series of adventure mystery stories that are one part travel, one part history and five parts adventure. This second book in the series continues the adventures of Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot who has decided to follow in the footsteps of her hero Amelia Earhart and make an epic flight around the entire world. After flying across North America Kitty's journey takes her down south to Florida where she plans to get a bit of rest and relaxation before continuing on with the rest of her long and grueling flight. As Kitty explores the strange and magical water world of the Florida Keys her knack for getting herself into precarious situations sweeps her headlong into the adventure of a lifetime involving mysterious lights, ancient shipwrecks, razor-toothed barracudas and even a sighting of the great Ernest Hemingway himself. This exhilarating story will have armchair explorers and amateur detectives alike anxiously following every twist and turn as they are swept across the landscape and history of the Florida Keys all the way from Key West to the strange and remarkable world of Fort Jefferson and the Dry Tortugas.

Kitty Hawk and the Hunt for Hemingway's Ghost is a perfect book to fire the imaginations of readers of all ages. Filled with fascinating and highly Google-able locations and history this book will inspire anyone to learn about and experience as much of our amazing world as they can - just like Kitty Hawk herself.

Review:

★★★

In the second chapter of Kitty Hawk's series, we're taken away to the Florida Keys on an adventure. This one is probably my least favorite of the series so far, but it is still an enjoyable and educational read.

This book is encouraging of learning, that is, there is a ton of information in the story that is true. From the specific locations that Kitty visits or flies over, to some of the people she meets, to the animals that she encounters, there is a ton of real life knowledge threaded into the story that ensures that, whether you want to or not, you're going to learn a thing or two.

Kitty Hawk is a character that more kids should read about. She's independent and strong, and so very smart. She keeps her cool in the toughest of situations and uses her brain (mixed with skill and some luck, of course) to save herself and anyone else in trouble too. She's a good role model to have.

The setting of this one is really gorgeous. I'm sure that most people who read this book will enjoy the back drop of the Florida Keys and the waters around them. It's well described and vivid, and it definitely lured me in a bit since when I was reading it, I was in my own freezing back drop of Illinois.

Long story short, if you liked book one, you'll enjoy book two well enough. It's an adventure book that can be read by itself, but I recommend book one too, for a middle grade or young adult audience.

Title: Kitty Hawk and the Icelandic Intrigue
Series: Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency #3
Author: Iain Reading
Format: Kindle Edition, 306 pages
Pub. Date: April 19th 2013
Source: Author


Book Description via Goodreads:

Following in the footsteps of her hero Amelia Earhart, Kitty Hawk sets off on an epic flight around the world and arrives in Iceland's capital city of Reykjavik where she finds herself immersed in a beautiful alien world of volcanoes, Vikings, elves and trolls. Before she knows it Kitty is plunged head first into an amazing adventure that sweeps her across a rugged landscape where humans and nature exist side-by-side in an uneasy truce and magical realms seem to lie just out of sight beneath the surface.

Kitty Hawk and the Icelandic Intrigue is the dazzling third installment of the Flying Detective Agency series featuring Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenaged seaplane pilot with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into - and out of - all kinds of precarious situations.

This is a perfect book to fire the imaginations of readers of all ages - armchair explorers and amateur detectives alike. From dangerous criminals and corrupt government officials to mystical beings and clashes with the elemental forces of nature, this book has it all. Come and join Kitty Hawk as she experiences the strange and extraordinary world of the Icelanders, and unravels the Icelandic Intrigue.

Review:

★★★★

This third book in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency picks up the next chapter of Kitty's flying adventure. She finds herself in Iceland in a new story of action and this time, even fantasy.

I have a fascination with Icelandic custom as well as the country as a whole. It's so pretty looking, and is a place that I would love to go visit, so I was drawn in immediately by Reading's descriptions of the landscapes. I learned a lot, as can be expected from all of the books in this series. There is a cornucopia of information in this book that helps you learn more about what Kitty is going through as you move across the plot itself.

A plot which I really enjoyed. The first two books had fantasy elements, of course. Though this book series is an informative one they are still works of fiction. However, this book had my own personal preference of fantasy. That is, just below the surface, there is a land of magic. Kitty's new adventure involves plots involving Vikings and elves and trolls, all set in this gorgeous Iceland scenery. The plot was exciting and well paced, and kept my attention.

Kitty continues to be the tough heroine that she's proven herself to be throughout, with her head on her shoulders and her heart set and determined on her goals. I found that the character development was a bit weaker in this book than in the ones previous, but it didn't hinder me too much from reading it.

My one critique of this book is how it ended. I won't go into details, but it made the book end on a bit of a low note for me. The series doesn't end here, but it did put a bit of a damper on my reading.

I think this book will appeal to anyone who likes a young adult fantasy adventure, and those who liked the first two books are sure to enjoy this one as well.

Title: Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic
Series: Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency #4
Author: Iain Reading
Format: Kindle Edition, 321 pages
Pub. Date: February 16th 2014
Source: Author


Book Description via Goodreads:

Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic is the thrillingly cryptic fourth installment of the exciting Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series featuring the intrepid teenage seaplane pilot Kitty Hawk and her various adventures of mystery and intrigue as she follows in the footsteps of Amelia Earhart on an epic flight around the world.

This fourth book in the series brings Kitty to the emerald hills of Ireland where she meets a handsome stranger and is quickly swept up in a perplexing hundred-year-old family treasure hunt involving secret codes and puzzling clues that lead her on a fast-paced adventure that carries her from Dublin to London - from the decks of the ill-fated ocean liner Titanic to the temples of ancient Egypt and the streets of Jack the Ripper - until she finally unlocks the mystery and discovers the long-hidden treasure.

Much like the earlier books in this series, Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic is a perfect book to fire the imaginations of armchair detectives of all ages. Filled with fascinating and highly Google-able locations and history the reader will find themselves immersed in brand new worlds that are brought to life before their very eyes as Kitty Hawk experiences the stories and history of a doomed ocean liner and unravels the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic.

Review:

★★★★

This is the fourth book in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency series by Iain Reading. These are adventure books that follow young pilot Kitty Hawk on a series of mysterious adventures that launch her all over the world in order to solve them all and learn along the way. The fourth book is an enjoyable addition to the rest of the Kitty Hawk lineup.

I was drawn in immediately by the cover and title. There are a few points in history by which I am fascinated. Somewhere near the top of that list, is the sinking of the Titanic. I was excited to see that this book deals with the ship. I knew a lot of the information already because of this fascination, but there was still things I didn't know previously and a lot of information to boot. This book weaved in stories of Jack the Ripper and the Titanic among other things, but did so in a way where it didn't seem encyclopedic. As usual, the book was descriptively written and made me want to travel, just as all the other books in the series have. From Ireland to England and even to Egypt, this adventure spans all over and I would love to travel with Kitty, despite all the strange mysteries she gets herself into.

For the first time in this series though, the characters fell short for me. I didn't connect or cheer for Kitty Hawk as much as I had in the first three books previous. She made a few decisions that set me aback a bit. She was still likable enough, but she wasn't quite as admirable in my eyes, and I hope this gets remedied in a future KHFDA book.

This will sure to be fun for young adult fans of mystery and adventure, or even just those who are as fascinated by the Titanic as I am.