The Pear Affair by Judith Eagle

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Pear Affair by Judith Eagle Fiona Hartley-Kroeger Eagle, Judith The Pear Affair; illus. by Jo Rioux. Walker US/Candlewick, 2022 [288p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781536217032 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781536224696 $18.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 4-6 Five years ago in 1964, Penelope “Nell” Magnificent’s beloved au pair (nicknamed Pear) suddenly left her job in London, but she has regularly written to her former charge from her native Paris. Now the letters have stopped abruptly, and Nell is desperate to figure out what happened to Pear, whose loving presence was a refuge from her horrible supermarket magnate parents and, later, from her depressing boarding school. A sudden Magnificent family business trip affords Nell the opportunity to find Pear, and she ends up plunging headfirst into a mystery that takes her from the most elegant hotel in Paris to the tunnels below the city, from the ateliers of elite couturiers, to boulangeries threatened by a dastardly bread sabotage scheme. Aided by a quirky group of local children and pursued by suitably comic-evil baddies, Nell discovers more than she bargained for as she uncovers layer after [End Page 216] layer of mystery, conspiracy, and—most remarkable of all to our lonely heroine— friendship. Originally published in the UK, this is as delightful and delicious as a Parisian boulangerie creation. Final art not seen. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois