Alex Neptune lives in a seaside town called Haven. Tourists used to flock to the beautiful beach, enjoy the ocean and spend their holidays there. Alex has never been one to enjoy the water. In fact, he’s always believed that the sea is actively trying to kill him. It only takes water up to his knees when a freak wave will attack him. His grandmother always warned him against the sea, and now he’s convinced it is his enemy.

Now the tourists avoid it too. Haven’s waters have become polluted and unswimable, making it tough for businesses to survive in Haven. Alex’s family have an ice cream van that Alex often helps in, but it doesn’t make a lot of money.

Alex’s best friend is Zoey, a keen inventor and budding engineer. Her father runs a scrap business, but yearns to be a full-time artist. His creations are made from the scrap he collects, and Zoey fears for his artist dreams.

One day, Alex is given a small octopus, found in the tunnels along the cliffs. This is surprising as most sea creatures left or died in Haven’s disgusting water. This octopus isn’t like anything he’s researched in all things oceanic. This octopus is super smart, and leads him to the local aquarium, closed down and empty.

What Alex sees inside tears at his heart, and blows his mind in equal measure. The mythical story of Haven’s beginnings are true!

Alex and Zoey have been testing the water of Haven, trying to prove that it’s being polluted by a new building on the seafront. Called The Station, no-one knows what goes on in there. What they are sure of, is that their vain, greedy Mayor has something to do with it.

Alex, Zoey, and a new kid in town named Anil format a plan. They must stop the Mayor, clean the water, prove that the age-old myths are true and save their town. To do it, they know they will need some help. Their team will include a small clever octopus, a bunch of cheeky sea otters, Alex’s weight-lifting sister, and an ice-cream truck.

Alex Neptune, Dragon Thief is a wonderful adventure of friendship, mystery solving, myth proving and dragon stealing! The reader gets to know the characters and their small seaside town as a mystery is investigated. Something fishy is going on, without any living fish left in their bay. The capers the characters get themselves into are funny, full of action, and a clever octopus called Kraken is an entertaining bonus.

Alex has always feared the sea, and he soon learns the reason why. It is all wrapped up in the history of the town and a mythical dragon. Tension builds as a rescue plan is put together and then launched. Things going wrong add to the a reader’s excitement, all while an environmental string weaves through the story – The ocean environment has been spoiled for financial gain of a few.

A race through the streets, battle action on the waves and a heart-thumping finish had me searching for the next book in this seaside series. Luckily No. 2 – Alex Neptune, Pirate Hunter is due out July 2023, and No. 3 – Alex Hunter, Monster Avenger is out October 2023. I’ll be waiting….   

Author – David Owen

Age – 8+

See inside here

Look out for the next books in the series

Out July 2023                                                             Out October 2023

(2022, Harper Collins, Usborne, Sea, Ocean, Dragon, Myth, Festival, Pollution, Environment, Greed, Villains, Courage, Friendship, Seaside town, Tourists, Visitors, Ice cream truck, Teamwork, Weight lifting, Caves, Series, Action, Animals, Octopus, Otters, Crime, Family, Mystery, Secret)