When a cipher machine that can unscramble unreadable messages in seconds goes missing along with the man who created it, Alice is drafted into France's Olympic training camp where the daughter of the machine's creator is staying at the Olympic training camp, preparing to cycle in trials for the Olympics. It's up to Alice to discover what is going on and to save the day.
It's really no secret that I have all the love for these books for so many reasons: I adore Paris, I love adventure books and especially anything with a detective vibe, and the books describe cakes and confectionary in a way that is guaranteed to make your mouth water! To add to that, I have read 2 of the books whilst in Paris which essentially is my idea of heaven! (You can read my reviews of the first three books here: A Recipe For Trouble, A Spoonful of Spying, A Sprinkling of Danger ). So it was with seriously mixed emotions that I picked up A Dash Of Daring, the fourth and final book in the series. Naturally, I was excited to be back in Paris with Alice but I can't deny that I was (and still am!) sad that this is her last adventure.
A Dash Of Daring sees Alice battling codes and ciphers to get to the truth and she needs to employ all of her skills in this book with new friends and old appearing along the way whilst also facing some old foes. And if that's not bad enough, she has to create healthy cakes and desserts for those at the training camp! She is challenged from the beginning, both inside and outside the kitchen, and she is forced into some stickly situations. She needs to employ her inner strength and levelheadedness if she wants to succeed. This time, it was lovely to read her sense of calm coming through through use of her mum's messages. This is, for me, Alice's toughest and most dangerous mission of them all, and she handles it with her usual grace, calmness and determination - she's a real hero.
Once again, there's plenty of adventure and plot twists that will keep readers on their toes, and it feels fitting that the book has been released as Paris is preparing to hold the Olympics later this month - I wonder what Alice would make of the 2024 training camp?
It would be remiss of me not to mention the descriptions of Alice's glorious creations (I think I've mentioned them in all of my reviews which tells you how much I love them!), As always, they conjure up delightful images in my mind and make me seriously crave cake and biscuits (the cake Alice makes with the mirror glaze is a work of genius)! Having croissants and cake on hand really is a must with this book!
Alice is the most wonderful person and I shall miss her adventures as well as those cakes, however, A Dash Of Daring was a fitting end to the series. Thank-you, Sarah, for creating such a deliciously enticing series.
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