Media Savvy by Jim Schembri

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Lothian 2008 ISBN 9780764410252
(Age 12+) Cobey Myles is a model, and having her face and figure perfect requires all her waking moments. Taken as a work experience student to a snow field brings her luck as the interviewer falls and so Cobey must take her place. She then is put in place to interview the minister who comes to open a child care centre at the lodge, and so begins her meteoric rise to stardom. But her inquisitive mind and exceptional intelligence cause her to rethink things the minister said, and question some of the things happening around her.

Not your usual crime fiction story, Schembri has his tongue firmly in his cheek as he recounts the days spent looking in a mirror, preening, dressing up, talking about tips for dieting and so on, the normal world for aspiring models. Clue by clue is dropped for the reader and Cobey to pick up and mesh together as the story draws to a climax.

Although slow to get going, I found this a most enjoyable read, similar to several others from this author, ..set in an identifiable place with characters both normal and recognizable, Schembri grounds his stories in the everyday, with a touch of the exotic, leading the reader on through his maze of incidental information to a satisfying conclusion after many plot twists and turns.
Fran Knight

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