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    Close to the Heel: The Seven Sequels, Book 5
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    Close to the Heel: The Seven Sequels, Book 5
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    Close to the Heel: The Seven Sequels, Book 5
    Audiobook4 hours

    Close to the Heel: The Seven Sequels, Book 5

    Written by Norah McClintock

    Narrated by Joseph Zieja

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    No one is more surprised than Rennie to hear that his late grandfather, whom he hardly knew, has left a mission for him to fulfill. Rennie is to fly to Iceland and deliver a message from beyond the grave, but when he gets there, nothing is simple or straightforward.

    For one thing, Brynja, the teenage daughter of the family he's staying with, is downright hostile. Her father Einar, who is to be Rennie's guide in Iceland, is preoccupied with looking after his elderly father-in-law, an old friend of Rennie's grandfather.

    Bored and a little bit annoyed, Rennie explores the town and becomes aware that the family is dealing with more than their grief over Brynja's mother's death the year before. Before he realizes what is happening, his curiosity puts Rennie in grave danger, with no one to trust and no one to save him except himself.

    ©2012 Norah McClintock (P)2014 Orca Book Publishers

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers Audio
    Release dateOct 1, 2014
    ISBN9781459809178
    Author

    Norah McClintock

    Norah McClintock won the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for crime fiction for young people five times. She wrote more than sixty YA novels, including contributions to Seven (the series), the Seven Sequels and the Secrets series.

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    Reviews for Close to the Heel

    3.5/5

    12 ratings14 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Coda is definitely a teen novel. I just couldn't get into the story. The main plot of a young man searching for his brother is exaggerated and lacks any really character development. This may be because this is a sequel or it may not be. Reading this book did not make me want to run out and check out the first novel. The fact that it's a fast read is a plus for teens who have a hard time staying with a novel.
    • 2/5
      Received Coda by Ted Staunton from the early review. Spencer O'Toole, movie buff, is home for the Christmas school break. His brother, Bunny, has a ten day pass from Creekside Juvenile Detention Centre. What is supposed to be a uneventful, relaxing vacation turns into a race to save his brother from kidnappers and to find out the truth about their grandfather. Coda is written for ages 10+. As a children's librarian, I have read and recommended many juvenile books. I feel the storyline in Coda is too unbelievable, even for a 10 year old. The fictitious Balkan state of Pianvia is too outlandish to be believed. A cross-dressing society that makes it's national drink out of pork rinds? Seriously? I am also not impressed with the main character using his parents first names's when he is talking about them. They are his parents, not his "best buds". Throughout the book, the reader is always wondering if Spencer and Bunny's grandfather was a secret agent / spy / killer. In the end, that question is never really answered. Is this the "cliff-hanger" for another book? Who knows. Closure to this question would have been better. I am sure there will be young readers that will enjoy the absurdity of this story, but in my opinion I feel this book only deserves two stars.
    • 2/5
      The 8th book in The Seven Sequels series, I was hoping to like Coda enough for it to send me looking for the rest of the books in the series. Unfortunately, it did not. A novel of intrigue about a kidnapped hoodlum and musical & artistic freedom for a made-up Balkan country, Coda irritated me more than anything. Grant you, as an adult, I was not the target audience for this novel, however, I usually enjoy books written for kids and young adults as much as those written for "grown-ups." Coda, however, did not meet the mark. The plot was too campy and loose to come close to being either believable or engaging, and there was no character development, so I didn't care about any of the characters. Furthermore, the central question of whether or not Spencer's grandfather was a secret agent was never answered, leaving this unsatisfying novel with a completely unsatisfying conclusion.
    • 3/5
      This was a sequel to a book I did not read, but I still had no problem following along thanks to the authors quick recaps of characters and their shared background. Decent, action-adventure read for those who either want a one-sit read, or needing a Hi-Lo read (though I don't think this is technically a Hi-Lo read). Would recommend for pre-teens or older reading at a lower grade level (but don't want to be seen with Juvie books.)
    • 3/5
      College freshman Spencer spends his Christmas vacation looking for his brother Bunny, who has mysteriously disappeared. Bunny is on a temporary release from prison and must be with family at all times. Since their parents and extended families are out of town for the holiday, the responsibility for finding Bunny falls to Spencer...with the help of his friend and crush AmberLea, her friend Toby, and pop star Aiden Tween. What ensues is entertaining, but totally implausible. The author describes this book as an "affectionate spoof of classic espionage tales" although the reader doesn't know that until the acknowledgment page which is in the end of the book. Spencer is the narrator of the tale and portrays himself as a sincere but bumbly kind of character. His voice is sarcastic which lends some humor to the escapade. Younger teens might enjoy this although it lacks depth and has no character or plot development. "Coda" is a part of the "Seven Sequels" series which is a sequel to "Seven: The Series." Each book in the series stands on it own and usually has a different author. The "Seven Sequels" series follows the characters in the original series. What ties both series together is that each of the seven is a grandson of David McLean. Upon his death, McLean left directions for each grandchild to carry out an assignment that had something to do with his murky past.I've read 1 book in each series and while there is very little literary competence, there is entertainment and some excitement and may appeal to young male readers looking for something light to read.
    • 3/5
      Close to the Heel follows the protagonist, Rennie, who is given a mission by his late grandfather, whom he hardly knew. His grandfather wants him to go to Iceland to bury an important but mysterious item from his past. However, this seemingly simple mission turns out to be much more complex – and dangerous – than Rennie ever thought. As he learns more about his grandfather’s past and the purpose of his mission, he realizes that pursuit of the truth can literally kill you. Part adventure story, part murder mystery, this book has many twists and turns to keep the reader turning the pages.Despite the fast-moving plot, though, this book did not impress me. I felt like the characters were very one-dimensional, and I could not relate to any of them. I also think there were too many characters to follow – especially with unfamiliar, foreign names. In addition, the ending seemed abrupt to me, and I had to re-read certain passages to understand what really happened in the book once the truth was revealed at the end. Overall, this was just an average book to me, and I probably won’t be reading any more books in this series.
    • 3/5
      First off, let me just say how in love I am with the concept of this book and it's companions-a series of 7 books, 1 shared back story, 7 different authors. Here is the actual copy from the press release I received:"It all started with Eric Walters and his passion for bringing great stories to kids-especially boys. Eric's idea was to ask six other well-known children's authors to contribute a novel each to a series that would be connected by a grandfather's love of his seven grandsons."From the very first chapter, I was already intrigued-it opened with a bang, and instantly left me wanting to know how Rennie, the main character, was going to find his footing, interact with other characters, and basically, evolve as a person.During the beginning of the story, Rennie receives a request via video from his late grandfather-the real grit of the story unfolds as he sets off to fulfill it. I really enjoyed the back story for this book, and the sense of adventure it instilled in my mind before the real adventure even began. I like how the author didn't unnecessarily waste time on the scenes and dialogue leading up to the true heart of the tale, and I found that I couldn't turn the pages fast enough-eager to see where she was taking both Rennie and me.Rennie's character perplexed me slightly as the story went on, as one minute he came off as a rebellious, obnoxious teen, the next he's caring and concerned for the well being of others-I just couldn't bring myself to fully connect with him. I think I was captivated with his character simply because I felt like he was the one who would eventually unearth one of the main mysteries.The secondary characters-Brynja, and her father Einar- were much easier to dislike. While I felt that their characteristics were necessary for the story, I just couldn't really stand to hear from them when they were in a scene. Especially Brynja, I pretty much wanted to strangle her from the get go.Overall this book was compact and quick-paced. It was like a tiny, keep-in-your-pocket mystery, and at the end, I found myself satisfied with the wrap-up, and intensely curious to read the stories of the other 6 grandsons. I'll be getting my hands on those as soon as I can.*Won as an Paperback ARC from Library Thing*
    • 3/5
      Norah McClintock's conception of seven books that can be read in any order intrigued me. So when I received an advanced copy of Close to the Heel, I was curioust to see just how she would set up the story lines. The death of Grandfather results in special instructions for each of his seven grandchildren. In a videotaped will, the grandfather relays to each grandchild an unfulfilled dream or desire that has been left undone by the grandfather. Rennie is charged with returning some journals to the site of a plane crash the grandfather survived long ago in Iceland. When he arrives to fulfill his mission, he finds himself caught in the middle of a murder mystery. While young readers may like the suspenseful beginning and build up to the resolution, I found that there were some details that just didn't ring true. For example, Rennie himself just doesn't quite hit the mark in terms of balancing his "bad boy" image with his everyday actions and certain elements of the plot seem manipulated like Rennie's acquaintance at the newspaper who just happened to have worked with the murder victim. Overall an entertaining read that probably won't stick with me much longer than this review took to write.
    • 3/5
      Rennie is a bundle of anger, and has plenty to be upset about, between his mother's death (for which he feels guilty) and his father's military strictness. After a summer at boot camp, though, he feels ready for a mission created by his late grandfater, which involves a somewhat mysterious trip to Iceland from Alberta. The story that unfolds once Rennie arrives in Iceland is somewhat confusing and complicated, with an unexplained disappearance in the present, and an unexplained appearance in the past. The ARC indicates that a family tree and map will be included in the final edition, so that make make the plot easier to follow, and presumably the grammatical errors and typos will be corrected. A strength of the book is the suspenseful and harrowing beginning in the middle of the story, followed by the events that led up to that point.
    • 5/5
      Norah McClintock's fast-paced, action-packed novel Close to the Heel is one of the intriguing linked stories in a series of seven books, all written by different authors. Unfortunately, I haven't yet had the chance to read the other titles, but Close to the Heel is a deliciously good entry, an exciting adventure for young readers.
    • 4/5
      The concept of the Seven Series is what attracted me to request this book. It is basically 7 different and standalone stories all about one grandfather tasking each of his seven grandchildren with some world broadening adventure ( I haven't read any of the others in series so I can't say how similar/different they are to this one.)Better synopsis have been written, so I won't go into detail, but I will say that I really enjoyed the fast paced adventure in Close to the Heel. I feel McClintock is an excellent writer of young adult mysteries and I will certainly be passing this along to my younger siblings to read. I think it can be not quite as appealing to people who enjoy more in-depth, world building storytelling, but that isn't a common theme in young adult fiction anyway so don't be surprised that you won't find it here. Some of the plot lines are a bit "out there" but I am all about suspension of disbelief when I read so that isn't an issue for me personally.
    • 2/5
      Unbeknownst to me when I received Ted Staunton's "Coda", the book is actually part of a series of books which is a continuation of a series established back in 2012. I had received Eric Walters' "Between Heaven and Earth" which focused on the lead character's journey to Africa in order to fulfill his deceased grandfather's final wishes. Staunton's "Coda" is part of the second series which follows the same characters that were the focus in the first series; the protagonist of this book is the cousin of DJ, the protagonist of Walters' "Between Heaven and Earth", so there is a connection (albeit very limited) between the two.I had personally not been a huge fan of Walters' book; I felt that it lacked any real depth or development and that the plot was oversimplified and unoriginal. Since reading Staunton's "Coda", however, I may have to reconsider my impressions of "Between Heaven and Earth" because compared to this drivel, Walters' book was a literary masterpiece.There is very little I can say about “Coda” which could be considered positive. The plot is outlandish and unbelievable, the dialogue is unrealistic and contrived, and the characters are paper-thin and unrelatable. Perhaps the disconnection that I felt for the characters may have been due to the fact that the majority of the characters presented in “Coda” were introduced in Staunton’s first book “Jump Cut”. Yet even as a sequel to a novel that I have not read, the book was not able to capture my attention whatsoever. Staunton tries to base the plot of the book on a fictitious nation that is laughable in its description. There is not one character that is well-developed and the decisions and actions made by the protagonist, Spencer O’Toole, are ridiculous and unbelievable. Any good book, regardless of its target audience, must have at least one area of literary strength; well-defined characters, an interesting plot, an intriguing structure, etc. “Coda” has none of these aspects going for it. There is nothing either memorable or interesting about the book and I would guess that, should any reader choose to start the Seven Sequels series with this book, they would likely not progress any further with it after reading this novel. I can’t see ever recommending this book to young readers and I sincerely hope that the other authors in the series put more effort into their works than Staunton did with “Coda”. Avoid this one.1.5/5
    • 4/5
      In CODA, Spencer spends his Christmas vacation looking for his brother Bunny, who has mysteriously disappeared while the two of them were skating. Their parents and extended families are out of town, so Spencer must save Bunny on his own — with the help of his girl-crush AmberLea, the suave Toby, the diminutive pop sensation Aiden Tween, and a cast of strange minor characters.The author calls CODA "an affectionate spoof on classic espionage tales," which explains the far-fetched and somewhat campy plot of this novel. Adult readers may recognize the various films, books, characters, and songs the text references, but younger readers may be bewildered by the sometimes bizarrely meta-fictional elements of this story. Despite its realistic setting, this novel verges on screwball comedy; readers seeking problem-based fiction may be disappointed. The author often coyly glosses past matters that YA books normally linger over, such as sexuality and drug and alcohol use, and despite repeated threats and the presence of guns, the violence in the novel is cartoonish. The resolution is completely unbelievable, but by that point readers have either embraced or rejected the novel's larger logic, so the late revelations should simply act as a punchline to the running joke of the novel.CODA is a fun and easy read, and readers who like absurd, over-the-top texts should enjoy this novel. CODA is a volume in the SEVEN SEQUELS series and is the companion novel to Richard Scrimger's THE WOLF AND ME, which readers may want to check out to learn the other side of Spencer and Bunny's story.
    • 5/5
      This is the third book I've read in this series which purports that the books may be read in any order. So far, I completely agree with that premise and am enjoying picking out books in my own order. I picked this book next because the previous two books had mentioned this seventh grandson that no one knew and they had been asked to get in touch with him but they didn't. Also, I have not read this author before, but I have always wanted to as she is an award-winning Canadian author of YA mystery/thrillers. I was hooked with the first chapter which uses the device of starting at the end where the main character is in a life and death situation. Then the story starts from the beginning to eventually tell us how he ended up there. I loved the main character, Rennie and really enjoyed the Iceland setting. I haven't read many books set in that country that aren't adult thrillers. The book was quite intense and starts off mysterious almost from the beginning as Rennie stumbles upon both a mysterious death and disappearance. This book doesn't really concentrate on the grandfather as the other two did. His story is there but it's just in the background; the main focus here are the crimes and Rennie's relationship with his dad. The mystery was good quality; I never know what to expect from a YA mystery since I read so many adult thrillers. However I was caught up in the story and found myself figuring out the mystery only steps ahead of Rennie, including the twist ending ... until the author sprung a second twist that threw Rennie (and me!) for a loop. I love a surprise like that; it makes for a great mystery!No other grandsons were mentioned in this book at all so my next pick in the series is really going to be up to topic or author preference.