The Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery
by Philip Pullman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Philip PullmanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-09
ISBN: 037584516X
Number of pages: 230
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Book Reviews of The Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery
Book Review: An enjoyable read but I expected more.
Summary: 3 Stars
`On a fretful afternoon in October 1872, sixteen year old Sally Lockhart stepped out of a hansom cab, and within fifteen minutes she was going to kill a man.' A priceless ruby, lives ruined by smoke (opium), good guys and contemptible villains, a determined feminist heroine and a crush of enigmas make for an exceptionally affecting story. Although Pullman overdoses on circumstantial descriptions of Victorian London, this first book in the Sally Lockhart Mysteries is a fine read. It's a bit overdone with modern conventionalism--the willful and orphaned heroine straightaway proceeds to uncover the obscurities that surround her father's death, her strange dreams and the malicious strangers who want to see her dead. She disdains the guardianship of her aunt in favor of living with a group of newfound (parentless) friends. She's really not likeable, she's spoiled, headstrong and temperamental, but readers will enjoy a good Holmesian traipse around Victorian London, albeit in a rather redundant plagiaristic Dickensian style. This is Nancy Drew for older readers, but that tag is due only to the violence incurred. The characters are too flat and the story too clichéd to make an enduring impression on savvy young adult readers.
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