Licensed to thrill

Sometimes there is nothing better than going on a journey of mystery and intrigue. The twisting storyline leading you to imagine so many possibilities and then there's the ultimate big reveal which always shocks and surprises; a delicious treat for the emotions.

Some of our most well-known books and characters are from this genre, as our love of suspense transcends generations. Household names such as James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, and Miss Marple all feature in material from this genre, as do villains such as Dracula, and Dr Jekyll's Mr Hyde.

If you have yet to enjoy the rollercoaster ride of a crime and mystery novel, then here are a few suggestions from the Kumon Recommended Reading List to whet your appetite.

In Enid Blyton's 'Five on a Treasure Island', the first of The Famous Five series, our heroes find a map in a shipwreck and set out to find gold, but they are not alone!

In Eoin Colfer's 'Artemis Fowl' join our twelve-year-old child prodigy who has dedicated his life to criminal activity. He discovers an underground world of armed and dangerous fairies as he tries to get his hands on fairy gold.

Ever wondered what 007 was like when young? Charlie Higson's 'Silverfin' introduces us to James Bond as a teenager. This action-packed tale sees Bond searching for a missing boy and uncovering the dark secrets of Loch Silverfin.

Robert Muchamore's 'The Recruit' (CHERUB series) follows orphaned tearaway James as he battles to be recruited by Britain's top-secret spy agency CHERUB. Being trained as a British special agent involves 100 days of gruelling training, before the fun really begins.

In John Buchan's 'The Thirty-Nine Steps', the reader is taken on a journey from London to the Scottish countryside and back again in a tale of murder, intrigue and mistaken identity, set on a backdrop of pre-war espionage.

Daphne De Maurier's 'Rebecca' takes the form of a flashback as our heroine tries to unravel the secrets of her husband's past and discover the truth behind the death of his first wife, Rebecca. Kumon students study Rebecca as part of the summarisation levels when looking at paragraph connections.

Harper Lee's much loved 'To Kill a Mockingbird' takes us to America's Deep South during the Great Depression. Our young Scout and her brother Jem begin to find gifts apparently left for them in the hollow of a tree. As their world begins to unravel, while their lawyer father takes on a controversial case, Scout has some important lessons to learn. Students on the higher levels of the Kumon English Programme study this book when examining essay structure in our critique levels.

In Bram Stoker's 'Dracula', terror abounds as vampire Count Dracula buys a house in London, bringing a world cloaked in fear and mystery across the sea from Transylvania.