The Murderer's Ape

This book was very interesting and gave a new perspective - telling the story from the eyes of a gorilla.

This is a fabulous fiction book. It is an adventure story where the main character is a talking gorilla called Sally Jones who is a ship's engineer alongside her best friend, The Chief. Unfortunately they take on a job that has disasterous consequences for both of them. The Chief is found guilty of murder and Sally has to travel round the world trying to find the one person that can prove his innocence. Sally meets many different people along the way. Some are friends and some are foes!!!
The books is very long and has just under 600 pages. However, the chapters are incredibly short so it is very easy to set yourself a goal of reading 2-3 chapters a night. The pictures are also beautifully illustrated and what I especially liked was each character had a picture so you could easily picture them talking throughout the story. It also had their names underneath which really helps me with mysteries because I easily forget characters names so it was nice to go back and remind myself. The story gets interesting almost as soon as you start reading the book so even though it is a large book with around 80 chapters, it captures your imagination very early on. I would recommend this book to children from year 6 upwards, however competent and confident year 5 readers would also enjoy this book. Perseverance is key but a fabulous book to read when you have some quiet time.

A fascinating book - on one level, it is a old-fashioned adventure story in which the central character tries to free her unjustifiably imprisoned boss. On another level, it's a reflection on how people might treat others with a visible difference. There is a wonderful sense of the various different places that Sally Jones (the gorilla) ends up in.

I found the ending a bit disappointing as it all unravelled just a bit too neatly but that's a minor criticism of a great book.

An enjoyable twisting tale that’s different from your everyday.

Jakob Wegelius has created an extraordinary character in Sally Jones! Her story is compelling, gentle and gripping at the same time. On a quest to free her loyal friend from murderous accusation, she embarks on a journey that takes her across turbulent seas and over foreign lands. Her keen observation of humans she encounters, alongside her skill with all things mechanical, blends a delightful narrative and a plot with devious twists. I feel I have made a new friend in Sally Jones and would delight in reading more.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the idea of a gorilla being almost human. My favourite character was Sally Jones. She was clever, thoughtful, honest and straightforward.
I would recommend this book to year 6 and above. It is a big book so you will need stamina!

FABULOUS read
LOVED IT
great idea having it from the perspective of a gorilla!

I really really liked this book. At first I thought it was going to be a murder mystery and it kind of was, but the main thing wasn't about the murder. It was a good story about how people can be kind yet sometimes mean.

It was amazing.
My favourite character was Ann.
I would and have recommended it to my brother.

I love sally jones because she can do amazing stuf

I would you recommend it to someone who loves mysterys and Adventure

I loved this book. It's an adventure story which takes you across the world as Sally Jones the gorilla (one of my favourite characters from any book) tries to find out the truth about her friend. I would definitely recommend it!