Reviewed for NetGalley. Publication date: May 15, 2015
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The Firebrand Mystery, by Darrell Pitt, introduces Jack Mason, an orphan, the son of the now-dead flying trapeze artists, The Flying Sparrows. When the story opens, we find Jack an inhabitant of Sunnyside Orphanage—“surely the most inappropriately named organization in all London.” But, as luck would have it, Jack is to leave the institution and to begin a new job with the infamous, Ignatius Doyle, an investigator who needs assistance, as he suffers from “an infirmity.” (If nothing else, he surely is, as his assistant says, “a tad eccentric.”) Jack makes his way to Doyle, where the two meet Scarlet Bell, who needs their help, as her father is missing. And so, the fun begins!
A “steam punk “ story, young readers are sure to delight in the quirky personalities presented, the airships and other steam-powered machines that fill the skies, the familial relationships that grow between the characters, and the mystery that unfolds, pitting Jack, Doyle, and Scarlet, against a band of evil-doers. Fortunately for Jack, he is a trained acrobat, as a variety of situations arise that require his peculiar expertise!
* * * * *
The Firebrand Mystery, by Darrell Pitt, introduces Jack Mason, an orphan, the son of the now-dead flying trapeze artists, The Flying Sparrows. When the story opens, we find Jack an inhabitant of Sunnyside Orphanage—“surely the most inappropriately named organization in all London.” But, as luck would have it, Jack is to leave the institution and to begin a new job with the infamous, Ignatius Doyle, an investigator who needs assistance, as he suffers from “an infirmity.” (If nothing else, he surely is, as his assistant says, “a tad eccentric.”) Jack makes his way to Doyle, where the two meet Scarlet Bell, who needs their help, as her father is missing. And so, the fun begins!
A “steam punk “ story, young readers are sure to delight in the quirky personalities presented, the airships and other steam-powered machines that fill the skies, the familial relationships that grow between the characters, and the mystery that unfolds, pitting Jack, Doyle, and Scarlet, against a band of evil-doers. Fortunately for Jack, he is a trained acrobat, as a variety of situations arise that require his peculiar expertise!
