The Ruby in the Smoke
Sally Lockhart Mysteries Series
Author: Philip Pullman
Book 1 in the Sally Lockhart Mysteries series
Pages: 240
Published: 1985
Age: 12+
Sally Lockhart is sixteen, an orphan, and she's just struck a man dead. Not with a weapon, though she has a pistol, and probably the heart to use it. Sally killed Mr Higgs with just three words - The Seven Blessings.
Unfortunately, she still has no idea what they mean, and why her drowned father's colleague died of fear when he heard them. Sally only knows that she'll do anything, say anything, be anything to find out.
About the Sally Lockhart Mysteries Series
Books in series order
- 1.The Ruby in the Smoke(1985)
- 2.The Shadow in the North(1986)
- 3.The Tiger in the Well(1990)
- 4.The Tin Princess(1994)
Reading age: 12+ years
This series should be read in order.
Sally is sixteen and uncommonly pretty. Her knowledge of English literature, French, history, art and music is non-existent, but she has a thorough grounding in military tactics, can run a business, ride like a Cossack and shoot straight with a pistol.
When her dear father is drowned in suspicious circumstances in the South China Sea, Sally is left to fend for herself, an orphan and alone in the smoky fog of Victorian London. Though she doesn't know it, Sally is already in terrible danger. Soon the mystery and the danger will deepen but can Sally muster the bravery and wit required to survive?
A precursor to Y.S. Lee's Agency (Mary Quinn) series, Pullman's Sally Lockhart Mysteries is a thrilling historical quartet filled with mystery, suspense and intrigue.