Ruby Redfort Feel the Fear...finished at last!

We started reading this book before Christmas and with a whopping 57 chapters it really is a long read but we enjoyed every chapter. As we hadn't got around to doing a full review in December, we wanted to finish what we started and let you know what we thought of the whole book now we have finished reading it.

In this book, Lauren Child's fourth book in the Ruby Redfort series, child prodigy secret agent Ruby feels she is totally invincible and is totally fearless. 

Having narrowly escaped death several times in her previous adventures, Ruby now believes that Lady Luck is on her side and that she will come to no harm no matter what. This reckless attitude gets her pulled off from fieldwork training but Ruby soon finds a way of getting back in on the action with the latest case that Spectrum 8, the top secret division that she works for, are trying to solve. 

She may be just a school kid but Ruby is one cool character, not just with her secret agent work but in her friendships too. We love Clancy Crew, who is Ruby's best friend. Although I don't think it has been specifically mentioned in any of the Ruby books, we have a sneaking suspicion that Clancy could well be on the autistic spectrum. As we learn more about him in each book, we just love him more and more. Many of his traits feeling familiar to us with J also on the spectrum. 

This book's mystery centres around The Scarlet Pagoda theatre in Ruby's home town, Twinford. Ruby uses her decoding skills to work out some answers which all build up to a nail biting finale with Ruby having to use her fearlessness, which had got her into so much trouble, to her advantage in the end.  

We love the fact that Ruby Redfort books appeal to both boys and girls, grown ups and kids. We love how Feel the Fear has mentions of Ruby's previous adventures from the other Ruby books and yet you don't need to have read them to enjoy this book. We love how Ruby has great quirky friends like Clancy Crew. This book, like the others, also features plenty of other interesting characters like butler Hitch and housekeeper Mrs Digby both playing their important roles in the book that make the storyline even more interesting. I often find myself wondering who would play these two characters if there was ever a Ruby Redfort movie (which I really really hope that one day there will be!)  

We are once again left with a few unanswered questions, leaving us hopeful of more Ruby books on the way. This book also features parkour, skitching, and a few more of those top secret spectrum gadgets and kit. With one particular item playing a very big role in the mystery. 

Now this may have taken us ages to read as we read a little each day, savouring the adventure. But it really is a gripping plot and leaves you wanting more. 

So we can't wait to find out what's in store for Ruby in the future. We are hoping for many more Ruby adventures by brilliant author Lauren Child. 

You can find out more about Ruby Redfort on The Ruby Redfort Facebook page or buy your own copy of this awesome book here. 

Thank you HarperCollins for sending us this book to review.